Men’s lacrosse: Badder and Collins lead Comets to 12-8 win over Hope

OLIVET, Mich. – Juniors Dakota Badder and James Collins scored five points apiece to lead the Olivet College men's lacrosse team to a thrilling 12-8 win over Hope College tonight under the lights at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet.

Collins gave Olivet an early 1-0 lead on a goal at the 12:07 mark of the first quarter. The Flying Dutchmen answered 28 seconds later to tie the game. The Comets grabbed a 3-1 lead with a pair of goals in the middle of the quarter, the first by Collins and the second by sophomore Tyler Polendo.

After Hope scored to make the score 3-2, Olivet grabbed momentum back with two goals by Badder in the final 45 seconds of the opening quarter. The last one came just as the horn sounded at the end of the quarter. The Comets then out-scored the Flying Dutchmen, 2-0, on goals by Collins and sophomore Nino Minaudo in the second quarter for a 7-2 halftime lead.

Minaudo put Olivet ahead by six, 8-2, with an unassisted goal less than a minute into the third quarter. Hope responded with four consecutive goals – three in the third stanza and one in the fourth quarter – to cut its deficit down to two, 8-6. The teams exchanged the next four goals to make the score 10-8 with 1:28 remaining in the game. Olivet capped its scoring with two goals in the final 18 seconds of the contest, with the last one being with a man-up advantage following an unnecessary roughness penalty on a Hope player after the first goal.

The final statistics were nearly equal for both teams. The Comets had a slight edge in total shots, 46-43, shots-on-goal, 28-26, and ground balls, 49-46. The difference in the game was Olivet turned the ball over only 17 times to 27 turnovers for the Flying Dutchmen.

Collins scored a game-high four goals to go along with an assist for his five points, and Badder finished with three goals and two assists for his five points. Minaudo had four points on three goals and an assist. Polendo and sophomore Shane Prunty each scored once, while junior Jack Ranson had a pair of assists. Polendo and Minaudo finished with 11 and 10 shots, respectively.

Junior Ryan McGee earned the win in goal, as he made 18 saves in 60 minutes of playing time. Sophomore Charlie Haesler posted team-highs in ground balls (six) and caused turnovers (four).

The Comets close out their regular season this Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at Adrian College.

NOTES: Prior to the game, Olivet honored its two seniors – Sheldon Berry and Kyle Borek – who were playing in their final home game. Badder leads the Comets this season with 48 points (32 goals and 16 points).