Five Players Score as Men's Lacrosse Wins Season Opener 14-12

Knapp's four goals help Van Alstine win debut

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (02/19/2022) — The Monmouth College men's lacrosse team kicked off their season with a 14-12 home win over Marian University on Saturday. The Scots (1-0) had five different goal scorers to give new coach and alum Thomas Van Alstine his first career win.

It didn't take long for the Scots to get on the board as senior Jeff Knapp (Ravenwood, Tennessee) scored just 1:01 into the contest. Marian led 2-1 when Liam Meyer (Cedarburg, Wisconsin) scored off an assist from Kain Donohoo (St. Charles, Illinois). Just 14 seconds later, Knapp put the Scots on top 3-2 with his second goal of the game.

Monmouth kept pushing as LH Bond (Fishers, Indiana) scored on another Donohoo assist, giving the hosts three goals in less than a minute. With a 4-3 lead, Monmouth scored two more in the first quarter on goals by Michael Casey (Chicago, Illinois) and Meyer's second of the day.

The game was tied 6-6 after the first quarter and goalkeeper Teagan Simons (Littleton, Colorado) held the Sabres scoreless for the entire second quarter. Bond's second goal of the game put the Scots on top with 12:43 to play in the half. Meyer made it 8-6 and with the Scots down a man, Knapp put Monmouth on top 9-6. Knapp scored again with the Scots a man up and Casey's goal gave with 4:10 to go gave Monmouth an 11-6 lead at halftime.

The third quarter featured just two goals, one for each team. Marian ended their more than 19-minute drought with 11:09 to go in the quarter and Jack White (Omaha, Nebraska) scored his first career goal with the Scots a man up.

Marian scored a man up goal early in the fourth to cut the Scots lead to 12-8. Monmouth responded three minutes later as Bond scored again. Jack Koenn (Dexter, Michigan) gave the Scots a 14-8 lead with 7:42 and neither team scored over the next four minutes. But Marian didn't go quietly, scoring four goals with 2:37 to get within two. Monmouth won the faceoff at the 1:20 mark and were able to kill off the clock without another goal scored.

Knapp led the Scots with four goals while Bond and Meyer had three each. Casey scored twice and added an assist while White had a goal with an assist and Koenn scored once. Donohoo had five assists while Knapp had two and Meyer had one.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Knapp has 102 career points, most in Monmouth history...Donohoo is the seventh player in school history to reach the 40-point mark...Knapp has a school-record 87 career goals...Meyer has 15 career goals while Casey has 13 and Koenn has 12With five assists, Donohoo passed coach Van Alstine for fourth in school history with 19 in his career...Knapp has 15 career assists...Simons tied Grant Miller (2019) for most career starts in goal...He extended his own career wins record to 11...Gordon Kiesgen (Spring Grove, Illinois) was 15-for-28 in faceoffs and led the team with 10 ground balls...Bond scored his first career goals and finished with three...White led the Scots with three caused turnovers...Simons made 22 saves...Monmouth has won the opening game of the season in all six years they've played men's lacrosse...The Scots host Concordia Chicago at 6 p.m. Tuesday.