The Colorado State University Pueblo Thunderwolves men’s lacrosse team fell just short by a final score of 15-11 against The Dominican University of California Penguins on Feb. 4. The Thunderwolves kicked off the non-conference season opener at home in the Art and Lorraine Gonzales Stadium (ALG).
Lane Lessley and Ezra Terry led the Pack in the scoring column with three goals and one assist each. This accounted for six out of the 11 goals for the Pack and provided the team with a great boost offensively. Kyle Parker was another difference-maker on offense for the Thunderwolves with two goals on both of his shots on goal.
The game started off with the Penguins surging offensively where they scored three goals in the first five minutes of the first quarter. Lessley and Ezra both answered with goals to keep the Pack in it early when they faced a 5-2 deficit after a quarter of play.
CSU Pueblo split goalie minutes for the match with Zane Lassberg and Xander Katz in net. Lassberg had seven saves and finished the afternoon with a 50 percent save percentage. Katz tallied 3 saves in goal for the Pack.
(Photo by Theoren Gernazio)
At midfield, Bryce Campbell had an excellent game in the faceoff circle finishing eight for 13 for a strong 61 percent on the day. Aaron Bell added four more faceoff wins. The Thunderwolves finished with 12 faceoff wins compared to the Penguins’ 15 for the game.
The Pack settled into the game nicely in the second quarter when they outscored the Penguins 4-2, including two goals on the man advantage scored by Chris Easley and Parker, which had the Pack only trailing by a score of 7-6 at halftime.
Man advantage opportunities did work in the Thunderwolves’ favor as they went 4-13 while up a man to finish at 30 percent for the match, compared to the Penguins only scoring twice in eight tries. Lessley scored his third goal of the game on the advantage with Parker scoring both of his goals while up a man for the Pack.
The Thunderwolves would add a pair of goals from Terry in the second half, but the third quarter was a struggle as they were outscored 5-2 by the Penguins. Both teams scored 3 goals in the final frame. Turnovers did not help CSU Pueblo as they committed 27 for the game vs. 20 turnovers for the Penguins.
