CASTINE, Maine — Behind a dominant offensive performance and overwhelming control at the faceoff stripe, the Maine Maritime Academy men's lacrosse team rolled to a 20-7 victory over Thomas College on Saturday afternoon at Ritchie Field. The Mariners improved to 10-5 on the season while Thomas dropped to 7-8.
After falling behind 2-0 midway through the opening quarter, Maine Maritime responded with three-straight goals to take the lead for good. Freshman
Hunter Arno started the rally off an assist from junior
Bryce Crowell before freshman
Ryan Parent and junior
Ryker Spear each found the back of the net to give the Mariners a 3-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Maine Maritime took complete control in the second quarter, outscoring Thomas 6-3. Sophomore
Tristan Reinhold sparked the surge with four second-quarter goals, including three during a four-goal run in less than three minutes that pushed the Mariners' lead to 7-3. Reinhold added another late in the frame as Maine Maritime carried a 9-5 advantage into halftime.
The Mariners continued their offensive onslaught in the third quarter, scoring seven more times to put the game out of reach. Reinhold scored twice more in the opening minute, while Spear, freshman
Connor Harvey, senior
Cole Michaud and freshman
Randall Walker all added goals during the period. Maine Maritime led 16-7 heading into the fourth quarter.
Maine Maritime closed the game with four unanswered goals in the final period. Parent opened the quarter with his third goal of the afternoon before Arno, Michaud and Harvey capped the scoring.
Reinhold led the Mariners with six goals on eight shots, while Parent totaled four points on three goals and one assist. Spear added three goals, Michaud recorded two goals and one assist, and Harvey and Arno each scored twice.
Trey Marcil orchestrated the offense with five assists — surpassing
Brendan Reddington for the most assists in a single season in MMA program history with 55.
Crowell dominated possession for Maine Maritime, winning 24 of 26 faceoffs while collecting a game-high 14 ground balls. The Mariners controlled the faceoff battle 28-3 overall and finished with a commanding 76-44 edge in ground balls. Junior
John Martin added 11 ground balls for Maine Maritime.
Sophomore
Ben Kieu earned the win in goal with 11 saves over 47:10 — setting a new program single-season record for saves in the whi, while
Will Farrell stopped five shots in relief. Maine Maritime finished with a 19-for-24 clearing effort and forced 25 Thomas turnovers.
The Mariners host No. 2 Husson University on Sunday at 3 p.m. in a showdown for the NAC championship.
