ALLENDALE, Mich. – It was arguably the most exciting game of the season for the no. 20 Davenport men's lacrosse team as they just barely survived a late 8-1 Grand Valley State run to come away with a 12-11 victory on the road. Bryan Larocque extended his streak of consecutive games with three or more goals as he knocked in five to lead the Panthers. Sophomore Devon Benson also had his best game of the season by netting four goals of his own. The Panthers (9-5) will travel to Urbana, Ill. this weekend for a pair of games against Minnesota-Duluth and the University of Illinois on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Tuesday's contest was simply a tale of two halves as Davenport dominated the first and second quarters, outscoring the Lakers 8-2 in the first half thanks to five different Panthers finding the back of the net in the first 27 minutes of play. Larocque clinched his sixth consecutive hat trick with 3:07 left in the second, while two of Benson's four scores came within the first 22 minutes of play. Parker Horvath, Joe Lopez, and Jack Faulkner also recorded goals in the half.
 
The Panthers would then get off to a 3-1 run to open the second half, with Larocque tallying his 47^th and 48^th goals of the season, as well as Benson's third score to put Davenport up 11-3.
 
However, the momentum completely switched gears to Grand Valley's side as they erupted for six unanswered goals, cutting the deficit to 11-9 with just 5:02 remaining in the contest. Benson took matters into his own hands and came up with a crucial unassisted score to give Davenport a three-goal lead.
 
Grand Valley's Jakob Kippola then countered with two more unanswered goals, and put the Lakers in position to tie it up with just a minute remaining in regulation. Senior Sam White was able to force full on penetration to the last minute Laker attack, and came away with one of the biggest ground ball's of Davenport's season to put the game away, giving Davenport the 12-11 victory.
 
Junior Logan Poe picked up his sixth consecutive victory between the posts as he picked up 14 saves on 25 shots on goal. Poe is now 7-2 when getting the start at goaltender.
 
The 9-5 Panthers will play in a pair of games this weekend in Urbana, Ill. as they take on Minnesota-Duluth Saturday night and the University of Illinois on Sunday.
 
Men's Lacrosse Contact: Paul Anderson | 616-889-4062 | panderson30@email.davenport.edu
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