COLUMBIA, MO – The University of Missouri’s Men’s Lacrosse team hadn’t played a game since March 10th. That’s nearly a month without seeing another opponent. With Mizzou’s spring break during the season, it can be tough to schedule games before, during, or after because of travel schedules, so it was going to be interesting to see how the long break affected the Tigers in their first game back.
Mizzou would rock their throwback striped uniforms for the first time in a few years during the contest against in-state rival MO State. Last year the bears took down Mizzou in Springfield 6-3, a loss that would be the start of a tough season in 2018 for Mizzou. Needless to say the Tigers were ready for redemption facing the now #20th ranked MCLA-D2 Bears.
After a delay to begin the game due to the refs not being there, both teams elected a representative to officiate the game to complete the contest. The Tigers had tons of shots the first half, but the MO State goalkeeper held strong between the pipes, limiting the score to 5-3 at halftime. The second half would be a different story as those looks finally started to find the back of the net. The Tigers scored 5 goals within the first 7 minutes in the third quarter to take a 10-3 lead. Mizzou would control the game from there leading to a final score of 15-7 Tigers. This is the biggest win Mizzou has had over MO State since a 13-2 win in 2012. Attackmen Jack Eagan(So) and Noah Iversen(Sr) would lead the way with a combined 17 points contributed on the night. Eagan had 5 goals and 2 assist while Iversen contributed with 1 goal and a whopping 9 assist. Sophomore attackman Thomas Stewart netted a hat trick as well in his 2nd start of the season. As per usual, Junior goalie Connor Graves played stellar in the net stopping 17 of 24 shots while faceoff specialist Collin Schott(Jr) and Mike McDonough(So) went a combined 19 of 22 at the faceoff X. Tigers stand at 7-2 after the victory.
Box Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 15 |
| Mo. State | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
GOALS: So. Jack Eagan(5), So. Thomas Stewart(3), So. Mike McDonough(2), Sr. Noah Iversen(1), Sr. Cory Chlebicki(1), Jr. Nick Pisani(1), Fr. Hunter Varley(1), Sr. Sean Lazinger(1)
ASSISTS: Sr. Noah Iversen(9), Jr. Nick Pisani(3), So. Jack Eagan(2), Fr. Hunter Varley(1)
FACEOFFS: So. Mike McDonough – 12/13 – 92%, Jr. Collin Schott – 7/9 – 78%
GOALIES: Jr. Connor Graves – 17 Saves, 7 GA – 70.8%
The Tigers will hit the road for their final regular season road trip as they go to Minnesota to take on the Western Michigan Broncos Friday night and then on Sunday face conference foe the Minnesota Gophers, with major UMLC playoff implications on the line.
