University of St. Thomas Lacrosse

Published Date: 05/10/2011

The University of St. Thomas lacrosse team entered the UMLL tournament as the number one seed, and was looking to win the league for the third consecutive year.  On Saturday, the Tommies squared off against St. Olaf in a semifinal matchup at Concordia University in St. Paul.  St. Olaf was able to keep things close through the first quarter, but St. Thomas outscored the Oles 6-2 in the second quarter to open a 8-3 lead at the half.  After the break, the Tommies matched their first half effort offensively and secured a 16-5 victory.  Nine different players scored goals for St. Thomas, led by freshman Will Hersman’s three goals and freshman Adam Gleason’s two goal, two assist day.  Sophomore Steven Bang and freshman Ryan Zeilinger split time in cage, holding St. Olaf to just five goals.

With the win, the stage was set for another Tommie-Johnnie championship game.  Both teams came out playing strong team defense, as the teams were tied at five goals a piece after three, with neither team having more than a two goal lead.  In the fourth quarter, the Tommies were able to open a 9-6 lead over the Johnnies.  But St. Johns clawed their way back into the game, scoring the tying goal with less than 30 seconds to play, and sending the game to overtime.  After the Tommies were unable to capitalize on their first possession of the overtime period, senior midfielder Jake Mellem scored the game-winner for St. Johns.