By Gina de Haan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin men's lacrosse team hosted the Trine University Thunder on Saturday afternoon. Despite holding a one-goal advantage after the first quarter, the Knights could not recover from six unanswered Trine goals, falling 12-3 at Zuidema Field. 

With the loss, the Knights drop to 4-8 on the year and 0-3 in the MIAA. Trine improves to 6-3 overall with a 2-1 conference mark. 

The Thunder struck first, as Nick Maher scored 2:45 into the game.

With just over three minutes left to play in the first quarter, the Knights forced a Trine turnover deep in their own zone. On the other end of the field, Griffin capitalized on the opportunity, scoring the go-ahead goal off an assist by Michael Winkler (La Quinta, Calif./Palm Desert). 

The Thunder scored a trio of unanswered goals in the second quarter to possess a 4-2 lead heading into the halftime break. 

After two quarters of play, Trine held a 19-15 shots advantage. 

Trine built on its second-quarter momentum, scoring three more goals before the Knights were able to find the back of the net. With 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Winkler converted on a man-advantage opportunity off a pass from Griffin. 

The Thunder headed into the final quarter with a 7-3 lead.   

Trine scored five goals in the fourth quarter, while the Knights were unable to generate a comeback effort.

Trine outshot Calvin 36-27 on the afternoon and scooped up 36 ground balls compared to the Knights' 25. The Thunder also won 11-19 face offs. The Knights were 16-20 on clear attempts while the Thunder were 16-18. 

Griffin led the Knights with a pair of goals on five shots on goal. Ethan Brown (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) led the Knights with nine ground balls. 

Freshman goaltender Mitchell Caldwell (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) collected 12 saves in the loss. 

The Knights are back in action next Wednesday when they travel to Albion for another MIAA matchup. Game time is set for 4 p.m.