University of St. Thomas Lacrosse

Published Date: 04/25/2010

Sunday was a day of several firsts and several lasts for the Tommies as they concluded the regular season with a 22 - 7 victory over the visiting Oles from St. Olaf. 

This day marked the final home game for nine Tommie seniors. During a pre-game ceremony, these seniors were introduced and honored for their contributions to UST lacrosse:  Thomas Hoffman, Sam Kepner, Jason King, Andrew Larson, Derek Michalski, Ryan Pietsch, Tony Sadder and Dayne Smith.  Each player was accompanied by parents or special guests and received a warm welcome. 

There were also several firsts during Sunday's game.  A very special recognition was reserved for the half-time ceremony.  To celebrate the 25th anniversary of St. Thomas lacrosse, members of the college's very first lacrosse team from 1985 were inducted into the UST lacrosse "Ring of Honor".  Seven of the fifteen original players (many of the others now live out of state) were in attendance and were introduced to the appreciative crowd.  Those seven along with the other eight members of the 1985 team were all inducted into the Ring of Honor. 

The members of that first 1985 team are: Tim Altier*, Matt Dempsey, Paul Dunn, Charlie Durenberger, Mike Grimaldi*, Bob Kinney, Tom Klein, Craig Kramer, Chris Larson, Pat Litchy*, Jim NcNaney*, Mark Meierotto*, Mark Singer*, Roman Stepchuk* and Pat Tucker (* indicates in attendance at Sunday's event). 

In his first (and last) game as head coach, Jeff King, father of senior attack Jason King, watched as Jason scored five goals and added an assist.  Earlier this year, Jeff King was the winning bidder to serve as head coach for a game.   An experienced lacrosse referee, coach King showed he also has a keen strategic mind as well as knowledge of the technical rules of lacrosse.  Coach King is one of the few coaches to "retire" with a perfect 100% winning record.

In another first, sophomore defenseman Kevin Gause scored his first goal as a Tommie with a nice dash up the field.  Another highlight was the offensive play of senior Sam Kepner.  Normally a defenseman, Kepner was given a chance at short stick and was set up beautifully by his teammates to score his first goal as a Tommie!! 

Fellow teammate Andrew Larson added four goals and two assists of his own.  Junior attack Joey Costello added three goals.  In net for the entire game was senior goalie Dayne Smith who played an outstanding game and made several great saves. 

With a perfect 11-0 regular season and unbeaten in their last 19 games, the Tommies are the #1 seed going into the 2010 conference tournament.  The Upper Midwest Lacrosse League conference tournament is this coming weekend (April 30 - May 2). As the #1 seed, UST has a bye for the first round and will play at 2:00 PM on Saturday, May 1 at McMurray Field in St. Paul. If UST wins that game, they will play for the conference championship on Sunday, May 2 at 2:30 at Seafoam Stadium on the campus of Concordia College - St. Paul (near Hamline & Marshall Ave.).  

Many fans are wondering if there could be another Tommie-Johnnie match-up for the UMLL championship on Sunday.  Stay tuned.

As always, Go Tommies!