A beautiful day on a beautiful field yielded some great lacrosse. Minnesota struck first, and then again, for a 2-0 lead. But UMD battled back, scoring 4 unanswered goals in the first quarter to take the lead. Assistant Head Coach Frank Clark noted, "We remained calm and that was the key. In a rivalry game, passion can overtake reason, but we didn't let that happen." Scott Wishart (Sr. Mounds View) was a catalyst early, assisting on Max Thomas-Olson's (Soph. Minneapolis South) goal that got the Bulldogs on the board, and scoring off an assist from Casey Mithun. Finally, Wishart scored on a backhand/over the shoulder shot off a great feed from Bobby Moore (Soph, Armstrong). Dan Pitzl (Jr. Totino Grace) ended the first quarter with a dynamic dodge and shot with 18 seconds left in the first quarter.
The second quarter was a bit more back and forth, with both teams demonstrating stout defense and goaltending. Sam Litman, the UMD Goalie Coach noted, "Our defense did a really good job in supporting the clearing game and in not giving up quality shots."
But it was the decisive third quarter that sealed the game. While the defense shut out the Gophers, Casey Mithun (Sr. Apple Valley) had two goals and an assist to put the Bulldogs up 9-3 by the end of the quarter. Assistant Coach James Miceli commented, "Casey, in the third, and Scott, in the first, did what two senior attackmen should do - control the pace of the game, ride, create opportunities for themselves and others and finish shots." Assistant Coach Rob Horn was strong in his praise of the Minnesota Goalie, Barry Weintraub, "The Gophers goalie really was impressive - he really played well and turned back some great shots. Our hat is off to him."
The fourth quarter saw the Bulldogs score three more times, and the gophers twice, for a final score of 12-5. The Bulldogs are awarded the UMLL AQ, and will travel to Denver for the MCLA finals.
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