The St. Thomas lacrosse team rode a hot start and a career-high seven goals from attackman Danny Burke to a 19-11 win over Winona State University Sunday morning at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.
Burke surmounted his previous mark of four goals that he set last year. The seven tallies against the Warriors moves the junior up to a team-leading 23 goals this season.
“Our offense was getting some wide open looks in the crease today. We put in two new offenses this past week, and they’ve been working swimmingly,” Burke said. “(Attackman) Sean Hickey and I have always had chemistry on the field, and today we connected for a bunch of goals.”
Hickey netted two goals and tallied five assists, including three helpers on goals by Burke.
St. Thomas (7-1 overall) grabbed control of the game early, claiming a 6-0 lead after the first quarter and improving it to 12-1 by halftime. Coach Brian Gross said he was thrilled to see the offense maximizing its scoring chances.
“We were much more patient and disciplined on offense today. We weren’t settling for the first opportunity to shoot; we waited for the best opportunity,” Gross said. “We had good off-ball movement, which generated several opportunities for guys to take high-percentage shots, and when we had those opportunities, we did a good job of putting the ball in the back of the net.”
Even after chasing Winona goalkeeper Mike O’Keefe, the scoring did not let up after the half. The Tommies continued to pepper the net, racking up seven more goals in the second half against new netminder Noah Loos en route to the team’s highest scoring output of the season.
Contributions came from all over the St. Thomas team, including stellar performances from its seniors on senior day.
Attackman Zach Whiteis (3 goals) and midfielder Matt Kleven (2 goals, 2 assists) were two of the seniors to make the most of their final game at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.
“It was bittersweet to see our seniors play their last home game. (The seniors) are a very special group. They’re not only talented players but great young men,” Gross said. “They’re all a big reason why our team has been so successful during their time, as our 2012 and 2013 national championships are evidence of that.”
Gross praised the guidance his seniors provided throughout their tenure.
“Beyond that, those five have provided great leadership over their four years, and that is what I’m most appreciative of and what I will miss the most,” Gross said.
Whiteis is the lone graduating attacker, while midfielders Kleven, Peter Schubloom, Carl Nordberg and John Michael Coon will also be leaving the Tommies.
“It was tough, but looking back on all the memories I have made with the four other seniors and the games we have played on that field,” Whiteis said. “I was happy to be able to go out on top for our last home game.”
The experience of these five, along with the tough games against St. John’s and the University of Minnesota, are things Gross thinks will benefit his team moving forward.
“Today’s win was great, and I give a lot of credit to Winona State for continuing to battle when we opened up a pretty large lead early on … but the St. John’s and U of M games were valuable experiences too,” Gross said.
“We learned in the St. John’s game that our team will not quit, particularly when we were down early, and it was a true testament to the character of the guys the way they battled back,” Gross said. “In the U of M game, we saw that we can grind out close games and earn hard-fought victories, and that is important experience to have for when the conference and national tournament come.”
Burke added that playing a complete game is priority for the team as it readies for postseason play.
“Moving forward we need to work on stringing together four full quarters of our best lacrosse. We’ve had a history of starting out slow this year,” Burke said. “The game against NDSU this Wednesday will be one of the biggest challenges we have all year, and it’ll be a good test moving into the playoffs.”
St. Thomas will travel to Fargo Wednesday to finish up its regular season schedule against North Dakota State University.
Scott Sikich can be reached at siki3549@stthomas.edu.