Men's Lacrosse | 3/24/2018 10:07:00 AM

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After suffering their first loss of the season to Michigan State, the Panthers looked to turn things around against another Michigan opponent, Western Michigan, in their first game on home turf.
 
#13 Davenport vs. Western Michigan (Friday, March 23)
Final Score: DU – 16 l WMU – 14
Records: DU (6-1, 1-1) l WMU (6-2, 0-2)
 
The Panthers started the scoring Friday night with Dylan Riley getting a goal on a pass from Bryan Larocque. The Broncos would answer back shortly after with a goal from Zach Tardich to tie the game. Less than a minute later, Larocque was able to put one past Western netminder Conner Doig to regain the Panther lead. Once again, the Broncos were able to tie it up as Kyle Topper scored to make it 2-2. Less than 30 seconds later, Jarred Riley was able to put the Panthers back on top. Larocque, Jarred Riley, and Josh Jubenville were all able to score before the end of the first quarter, and Davenport led 6-2 after 15 minutes.
 
The second quarter was much of the same for the Panthers. Only 22 seconds into the quarter, Jarred Riley scored again with assists coming from Joe Lopez and Jake Hodges. On the ensuing face-off, Avery Buckius took the ball, ran down into Western territory and fired one into the net just 25 seconds after the Riley goal. Dylan Riley scored another one 30 seconds later, and Blake McDonald was able to pick up his fourth of the season while DU was on a man advantage. Western would come back with a couple goals of their own, but Davenport kept pressing the Bronco defense. Two goals from Dylan Riley, and goals from Jarred Riley and Larocque sent the Panthers into the half with a 14-5 lead.
 
Head Coach Chris Esquivel preached that strategy was key to the Davenport offense, "We did a good job cycling the ball, making the easy play which created a lot of opportunities that we wanted."
 
The second half started slowly as neither team scored in the first five minutes. Brian Feiler took a one-minute penalty, and Western Michigan took advantage while a man up goal. Tardich scored two goals just 16 seconds apart, and Topper scored just 31 seconds after to cut the Panther lead to six. After Chace Quezada scored to make it a 14-9 game, Larocque was able to get his fifth of the game. Adam Penland was able to score one late in the quarter for Western, and the game went into the final frame with Davenport leading 15-10
 
"We kind of let our foot off the gas," Esquivel said in terms of his team's second half. "We kept preaching that it doesn't matter what just happened, it's always about the next play."
 
Zach Kinney started off the scoring in the fourth to cut the Panther lead to four. Just 25 seconds later, Larocque was able to score his sixth thanks to a beautiful passing play from Jubenville and Dylan Riley. The Broncos would answer right back with a shot from Tyler Demars that beat Panther goaltender Jack Huffman. The Davenport offense had plenty of possessions, but errant passes cost them any chance of scoring in the second half. It did look like DU potted their 17th goal of the game as Larocque was able to put one into the Western net, but as one referee declared it was a goal, the other determined that Larocque stepped into the crease. The two discussed what they saw, and the final claim was that Larocque was in the crease, and the goal was negated. The Broncos took the momentum after the no-goal call as Kinney scored his fourth of the game. Just under 30 seconds later, Topper would score again for the Broncos and it became crunch time for DU.
 
The final five minutes were wild as Western continued to control possession of the ball and keep Davenport hemmed in their own half. However, great defensive plays by Nick Carter and Nick Mulcahy, and couple of huge saves by Huffman sealed the deal for the Panthers as they were able to pick up their first conference win of the season.
 
Despite the win, Esquivel was clear to point out what his team needs to focus on moving forward, "The second half we got lazy with our passes, and [Western] came back to get us. We just have to value every possession we have."
 
UP NEXT
 
The Panthers have a quick turnaround as they travel to Dayton, Ohio on Sunday to take on the Flyers. Dayton is coming into Sunday's contest with a 4-1 record, and winners of their last three contests. Scheduled start is set for 2 p.m.

Story Credit: Tyler Kuehl