GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin men's lacrosse picked up one its biggest wins in program history on Saturday, defeating previously unbeaten North Central 11-8 at Zuidema Field.

The victory came against a North Central team that had handed Calvin a 17-9 defeat last spring and advanced to the 2022 NCAA III Tournament.

The visiting Cardinals (7-1) had opened the season with seven straight wins and averaging better than 14 goals a game on offense.

A staunch team defensive performance along with timely goal contribution of its own allowed Calvin to claim the win with the MIAA regular season schedule on the near horizon.

Calvin (7-3) got off to a quick start by scoring the opening two goals and building a 3-1 lead after one period of play. Junior Christian Coler (Ionia, N.Y. Honeyoye Falls-Lima) got the Knights on the board with a score just 1:30 into the match on a feed from sophomore David Blackmon (Wheaton, Ill. Wheaton North). Junior Thomas Smith (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. Grosse Pointe South) then ripped home a shot three minutes later to make it 2-0 Calvin. After a North Central goal, freshman Riley DeSarbo (Monroe, Mich. St. Mary's Catholic Central) scored in the waning moments of the period to put the Knights up 3-1.

North Central scored a pair of early second period goals to tie the score 3-3 but Coler gave the Knights a 4-3 lead off an assist from freshman Jordan Warners (Orange, Calif. Crean Lutheran). North Central used a late second quarter goal to tie the game 4-4 heading into halftime.

North Central scored the opening goal of the third quarter to lead 5-4 but back-to-back snipes from Smith put the Knights back up 6-5 and the visiting Cardinals never led again. North Central did tie the game 6-6 but Calvin ran off five unanswered goals including three straight from sophomore Braden Carpenter (Noblesville, Ind. Noblesville) to build a commanding 11-6 lead with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals came back with a pair of goals in the closing minutes to creep to within three but got no closer as the Knights recorded the stunning win.

Carpenter recorded his fourth hat-trick performance of the season including his third straight as he finished with four goals to go with five ground balls while creating two opponent turnovers.

Blackmon had a monster game with two goals and four assists to go with five ground balls.

Smith had two goals and an assist while Coler had two goals and five ground balls. DeSarbo also had one goal.

As a team, Calvin caused 16 opponent turnovers. Senior Ethan Boelens (Grayslake, Il./Grayslake Central HS) led the charge, forcing four opponent turnovers while junior Josh Gage (Livonia, Mich. Detroit Catholic Central) and senior goalie Corgan Schaumburg (Rockton, Ill. Hononegah) caused three turnovers as well.

Gage had six ground balls. Junior Joshua Moyer (Allentown, Pa./) had two assists and five ground balls. Sophomore Nate Hanson (Naperville, Il./Naperville North HS) was 13-for-23 on faceoff opportunities and scooped up three ground balls.

Schaumburg had seven saves in the cage for the Knights in picking up his seventh victory of the season.

Calvin finished the game with a commanding 58-32 shots at goal advantage. The game featured two penalties with each team whistled for one apiece.

COACH COMMENT: "Our team did a great job of maintaining possession," said Calvin head men's lacrosse coach Dave Hoger. "We knew they were a high-powered offensive with the ability to score quickly. We came in with the mentality that we had to slide quickly on defense and force them to be passers and maintain possession on offense. We did just that. We took our offensive chances when we had them and ultimately put the ball in the back of the net against a really good team. Honestly I think it was the best win in (our Calvin) program history."

NEXT UP: Calvin will host Adrian next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the MIAA opener for the Knights with the contest slated to be held at Zuidema Field.