CHICAGO, Ill. – The Calvin University men's lacrosse team earned its second straight win to start the season by topping Illinois Tech 8-5 on the road on Saturday.
 
Calvin (2-0) fell behind 2-0 on a pair of early Illinois Tech (0-3) goals in the opening eight minutes but scored five unanswered goals to take control and held the Scarlet Hawks scoreless over the final 16 minutes to help seal the win.
 
Trailing 2-0 in the first period, Riley Desarbo (Monroe, Mich./St. Mary's Catholic Central) put the Knights on the board with 6:22 remaining to cut the deficit in half, and David Blackmon (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) tied the score at 2-2 with 13:26 left in the second period.
 
Braden Carpenter (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) kept the momentum on Calvin's side with a goal 56 seconds later to put the Knights on top, and Braylon Moore (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) sent the Knights into halftime with a 4-2 lead on a goal with 3:33 to play in the quarter.
 
After a Jordan Warners (Orange, Calif./Crean Lutheran) goal early in the third period, the Scarlet Hawks outscored Calvin 3-1 the rest of the period to cut the deficit to 6-5 heading into the fourth period. Colin TeBrake (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview) scored the other Calvin goal in the period to keep the Knights ahead by one heading into the final 15 minutes.
 
In the final quarter, Anson Gorski (Livonia, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's) pushed the Calvin lead to 7-5 on a man-up goal from Warners with 11:32 to play, and Teddy Hollebeek (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) added the final insurance tally with just under six minutes to play to help finish off the win.
 
The Calvin defense held the Scarlet Hawks to 17 shots on goal for the game, with Soren Thiemann (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) standing tall in goal with 12 saves. Drew Garrison (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) led the defensive effort with six ground balls. Jackson Engbers (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian added five ground balls, and Joe Alluri (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) led the team with two caused turnovers.
 
Calvin outshot Illinois Tech 56-23 overall and held a 27-17 advantage in shots on goal.

Eight different Calvin players scored one goal apiece, with Warners, TeBrake, Blackmon and Gorski also adding one assist.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Today was a gritty win against a well-prepared team," Calvin head coach Dave Hoger said. "Their defense did a great job on us all game and I was proud of the way our guys battled and got better as the game went on. This is the time of year where being able to find ways to win while learning from every possession, goal or turnover is what it's all about. We have a lot to keep working on and I'm excited for us to get back to work next week as we prepare for three straight home games."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's lacrosse will return to action on Saturday, February 28, when it hosts Milwaukee School of Engineering in a game scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.