Grand Rapids, Michigan - This evening the receiving votes Aquinas men's lacrosse team hosted the Crusaders of Madonna in a vital conference game that could have implications on the WHAC Lacrosse Tournament. After going down by two in the first quarter, the Saints wouldn't allow Madonna to score in the second and third quarter resulting in a 13-7 victory.
 
AQ improves to 7-6 overall this season and 4-3 overall. Madonna now has an 8-7 overall record and 4-4 in conference.
 
Madonna was on the board first tonight, with two goals coming at 13:59 and 11:59. Jack Rioux responded quickly after the second Crusader goal when he ran down the middle of the field for a goal at 11:45. Zachary Sweet then evened up the game on his first goal at 11:17 with an assist by Mitch Haggart. Another Madonna goal came before Brady Waling hit the net, with a score at 2:55. Alex Rolands then scored only 14 second later with a pass from Sweet for AQ's first lead of the day. Before the quarters end, Madonna would knot the game at 4 a piece.
 
To start the second, the two teams went back and forth for nearly nine minutes before Jon Jardis broke the ice at 6:06. He did so on a pass from Haggart. Haggart would then net a goal for himself at 2:05 on a man up opportunity. Jardis received another pass from Haggart at 1:26 to give AQ a 7-4 lead. Madonna would have ten shots in the quarter but, goalie Clayton Boerigter made heroic save after heroic save to hold the Crusaders.
 
In the third quarter, AQ continued to stump Madonna with four goals to Madonna's zero. Goals in this quarter came from Zachary Sweet (2), Brady Waling, and Jack Rioux. AQ headed to the fourth with an 11-4 lead.
 
The two teams played roughly five minutes in the fourth quarter before a nearby lightning strike sent the two teams to the locker rooms for 30 minutes. When the two teams reemerged, electric wasn't only in the air but also on the field, as both teams got a jolt of energy. Zachary Sweet scored for the fourth time this evening on an assist from Jon Jardis before two Madonna goals. Brady Waling netted the final goal of the game for AQ on an assist from Kevin LaHaie at 4:58. Madonna had one more goal, before the Saints walked away with the 13-7 victory.
 
Clayton Boerigter faced 20 shots on goal today and saved 13 of them to get the W. He also recorded six ground balls and two caused turnovers. Zachary Sweet had four goals while Mitch Haggart had four assists in the contest. Noah Szarejko would have five ground balls after face offs. Cam Gunn had two caused turnovers.
 
AQ has one more regular season game this season when they host Indiana Tech on Saturday. The game against the No. 5 Warriors takes place at 12:00 PM as Aquinas plans to celebrate their seniors before the opening face off.