KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College men's lacrosse team withstood a late surge to defeat Calvin 12-11 at home Tuesday night.
Kalamazoo scored first and led 2-1 eight minutes into the game. Calvin took a 4-2 lead soon after, scoring three goals in just over a minute. After Kalamazoo made it 4-3, Calvin scored again to take a 5-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Kalamazoo scored five unanswered goals in the second quarter to take an 8-5 lead into halftime.
Kalamazoo struck first again in the third to go up 9-5. After a Calvin goal made it 9-6, Kalamazoo scored three straight to lead 11-6 with 5:35 left in the third. Calvin scored again, followed by Kalamazoo, giving the Hornets a 12-7 lead after three quarters.
The Knights made it 12-8 with a goal at the 10:36 mark of the fourth. Neither team scored over the next nine minutes as the Hornets held a four-goal lead with just under two minutes left in regulation. Calvin scored with 1:47 left, 1:19 left, then made it a one-goal game (12-11) with 34 seconds remaining. Kalamazoo won the faceoff but turned the ball over, giving Calvin one last opportunity. After a timeout with five seconds on the clock, Calvin got one final shot off that was saved just as time expired.
Calvin outshot Kalamazoo 45-36 overall, 27-20 on goal. The Knights held a 57-46 edge in ground balls and faceoffs (20-7), but turned the ball over 33 times to Kalamazoo's 24.
Jake Asnis led the Hornets with four goals and an assist. Logan Gillis scored three goals with two assists. Ryan Warezak scored three goals with one assist and six ground balls.
Ronin Honda added a goal with two assists and six ground balls. Jack Jesko had two assists.
Nick Matuszak had a team-high nine ground balls with three caused turnovers. Jack Bungart led the team with six caused turnovers.
Eric Paternoster made 16 saves in his first career start in goal.
Kalamazoo is back in action Saturday, April 22, at Hope.