Cincinnati, Ohio - On Saturday, April 15th, your Mount St. Joseph Men's Lacrosse Program played host to Spalding University. The Lions entered the contest needing a victory to stay in the race to make the HCLC conference tournament. Sophomore Mason Meilinger put together a stellar performance as he would make Mount St. Joseph history after a 10 goal performance breaking the record for most goals in a game which was previously held by Kevin McClanahan. The Lions would earn their 2nd conference victory on the season as they defeated the Golden Eagles 20-12.
The Lions wasted no time jumping into the score column with a goal by Meilinger a minute and 35 seconds into the game. The Following face off was won by the Lions as TJ Ahrens dominated and quickly moved the ball into Lions attack area. Following a Lions shot just wide, they retained possession and took advantage with a goal from Nathaniel Bird for his 12th on the season. Spalding would cut the deficit in half with their first goal of the contest with 2 minutes to play. Luke Hurley would be the third Lion to score in the period after the Lions wasted no time after the face off win by Ahrens. With the period winding down to an end, the Lions once again struck with a goal to extend their lead to 4-1 as Mason Meilinger scored his second of the period.
In the start of the 2nd, The Lions potent offensive attack continued to put stress on the Golden Eagles defense. Following a pair of wide shots and a couple saves by the Spalding goaltender, the Golden Eagles found the back of the net to bring the score to 4-2. Quickly after, Mason Meilinger picked up the ground ball after the face off win and found the back of the net himself for a first half hat trick. With the score sitting at 5-3 and 10 minutes left, both teams would step up defensively. Freshman Chad McGinnis would cause two turnovers to create instant offense yet all the shots were quickly shut down by Spalding. Goalie Nicholas Jackson would also make a pair of stellar saves in the period, Jackson's save with 5:42 left on the clock led to a quick clear attempt for the Mount that was successful as once again Meilinger took advantage to score a goal. That goal would spark a hot streak of goals for both teams as Meilinger was able to find the back of the net one more time in the last four minutes as well as Jake Cotsonas for his 8th of the season. Heading into the break, the Lions held a 8-6 lead over the Golden Eagles.
Period number three was dominated by the Mount as they outscored the Golden Eagles 5-1 in the 15 minute stretch. Just like he did in the first half, Meilinger was able to slice through the Spaulding defense scoring the first three goals and stretch the lead to four. With just under four minutes remaining the Lions were able to grow the lead to 12-7 as Nathaniel Bird scored his second goal of the game. Just like Ahrens, the face off was taken by Chucky Lipps who was very dominant for the Lions in gaining possessions. The Lions would turn the ball over yet that was quickly reversed with a caused turnover by Cotsonas. Lions TJ Ahrens would connect on his second goal of the season on an assist from Antoine Jackson. That score would be the final one of the third quarter as the Mount led 13-7 heading into the final 15 minutes.
In the final quarter, Spalding would not go down easy as they began the 4th on a 4-2 scoring run to bring the deficit to four. With that being said, the Lions would continue to show terrific fight as the run was put to an end by a pair of goals from Ahrens and Meilinger. With a pair of saves by Spalding, Dareon McGrone was able to scoop the ground ball and score his first goal of the contest and his 5th of the season to bring the lead to 18-11. As the Lions looked to put the game away, Mason Meilinger would do what he's done all season and forever put his name into the Mount St. Joseph history books with his 10th goal breaking the single game goal record! The Lions would end up defeating the Golden Eagles by the score of 20-12 and earn their second HCLC victory of the season.
Along with Meilinger's 10 goals, he was also able to scoop up 5 ground balls in the contest. Nathaniel Bird was also able to score 4 goals on the day to go with 5 ground balls. The Lions were also able to dominate the face off circle with TJ Ahrens and Chucky Lipps winning over 50% of their face offs attempted. In the goal, Nicholas Jackson was able to corral 13 saves and earn the win on the day.
Up next for the Lions will be their final game of the season as they travel to Anderson University in what is a very important matchup to try and finish over .500 in HCLC play and a chance to make the Postseason tournament. Game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM on Wednesday April 19th.
