Donohoo Scores Five as Men's Lacrosse Wins Opener

Scots Rally Past Northland 10-6 on Saturday

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (03/21/2021) — The Monmouth College men's lacrosse team got off to a great start on Saturday as they knocked off Northland College 10-6 at April Zorn Memorial Stadium. Sophomore Kain Donohoo (St. Charles, Illinois) scored a career-high five goals, including the game-winning goal, to lead the Scots.

"It was awesome to get going, electric from the start," said head coach Chris Klaiber. "We had a bounce back mentality from the start and kept attacking the next play and I think our guys kept that mindset all game long."

The teams traded the lead early in the game as Northland scored the opener just 2:20 into the contest. Monmouth tied the game through freshman Chasen Smith (Algonquin, Illinois) with 6:01 to play in the first quarter and Donohoo put the hosts on top 22 seconds later. Northland tied the game with 1:55 to play in the first.

The Scots regained the lead on Donohoo's second goal early in the second quarter but the Lumberjacks sent the game to half tied 3-3. The Jacks scored the first two goals of the third quarter and led 5-3 with 12:34 to play in the period.

Donohoo pulled one back to get a hat-trick and the Scots remained down 5-4 for the next seven minutes. A 20-second burst came at a pivotal time and put Monmouth in control. With 2:18 to play in the third, sophomore Gordon Kiesgen (Spring Grove, Illinois) tied the game with a shot from the right-side. He then won the face-off and 18 seconds later Donohoo's fourth goal of the game put the Scots up 6-5.

"Pretty cool to see them do that to grab the quick goals," said Klaiber. "When we get some momentum going, anything is possible for us."

With 18 seconds left in the third, Donohoo doubled the Scots lead with his fifth goal of the afternoon. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter Kiesgen scored again for a 7-5 Scots leads. Sophomore Michael Casey (Chicago, Illinois) had two fourth-quarter goals, sandwiched around a goal by the Jacks with 5:17 left.

"That was an awesome game for Kain, a coming out party for him," said Klaiber. "He was mostly defense last year so a lot of hard work paying off for him today."

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: In addition to the five goals, Donohoo also had one assist…The five goals are tied for the third-highest tally in school history…Thomas Van Alstine holds the record with seven goals in a game on February, 29, 2020…Kiesgen won 11-of-19 faceoffs…Senior Mitch Perez (Glen Ellyn, Illinois) led the Scots with seven ground balls…Casey led the way with 10 shots…Senior Nick Thomas (Elmhurst, Illinois) led the Scots with six caused turnovers…Monmouth outshot Northland 42-15 and won the battle for ground balls 34-18…The Scots also won the faceoff battle 12-8…Sophomore goalkeeper Teagan Simons (Littleton, Colorado) made seven saves, four in the fourth quarter…The Scots were called for seven penalties while the Jacks committed six…The Scots will play a non-conference game at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana on Friday, March 26…The Scots return home and to conference play on Thursday, April 1, hosting Cornell College at 7 p.m.

Follow @MCFightingScots and @MonmouthGameday on twitter and @MonmouthCollegeAthletics on Instagram for the latest information and news from the athletic department.

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