Club lacrosse wins nail-biter against WMU

The CMU-WMU club lacrosse game came down to the final seconds, just like in previous years.

This time, the defense came up with a turnover to seal an 11-10 win for CMU on Friday in Kalamazoo.

The game was down its final possession as Western called a timeout with 15 seconds remaining to set up a play to tie the game.

“They ran the play a few times in the game before, and we anticipated it again,” said CMU coach Brad Thomas.

Senior defenseman Andrew Tillman said the defense did not allow Western any room.

“Our pressure forced them into throwing a bad pass that went out of bounds,” he said.

Halftime adjustments paid off within the first minute of the 3rd quarter, when CMU scored two goals to erase a two-goal halftime deficit.

That proved to be the turning point of the game as the team put Western on its heels, Thomas said.

“The defense forced them into situations they weren’t comfortable with,” he said. “The offense carried the play, with a lot of opportunities, while the faceoff guys stepped up.”

The defense did not give up a goal in the third quarter and locked up senior attacker
Mitch French (WMU), who had one goal and five assists in the first half, to only one goal in the second half.

CMU went ahead 10-9 in the fourth quarter on a goal by junior attacker Justin Schaufler, one of his three goals on the night. Minutes later, the game was tied again.

But with 2:30 remaining, sophomore attacker Jeff Wood’s fourth goal put CMU up 11-10.

SLOW START

Western led 6-4 early in the second quarter. At the 10-minute mark, Western scored to go up 7-4, but play was halted because of darkness.

“I asked James if he saw the shot, and he told me he couldn’t see the ball,” Thomas said. “He would stop (that shot) normally a 100 percent of the time.”