ST. LOUIS – In its home and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) opener on Saturday, the Missouri Baptist men's lacrosse team blew past Missouri Valley College for an easy 17-2 victory. The Spartans overwhelmed the Vikings with a well-executed defensive gameplan and an onslaught of goal-scoring opportunities.
 
Delivering Adam Gardner's first victory as interim head coach, the Spartans picked up their first win of the season after opening the year with a 12-7 loss at University of Michigan Dearborn and forfeited loss at No. 8 Lourdes (Ohio).
 
Even with MoVal finding the back of the cage first on Saturday (Sam Madison – 3'), MBU was unfazed. The Spartans proceeded to score the next 12 goals and took a commanding 10-1 lead into the halftime break.
 
At the forefront of the offensive charge was veteran attackman Jaxon Haas, who recorded four goals and two assists, all in the first half of play. Several Spartans got in on the offensive ambush including Hunter Gehrs, Alex Scott, Noah Campbell, and Matthew Lash. The trio of Scott, Campbell and Lash eventually joined Haas with hat tricks in the game.
 
Missouri Baptist kept firing on all cylinders scoring seven more in the second half.
 
MBU's savvy defense really hampered the Vikings' ability to make any headway with their double-digit deficit. When MVC did manage to navigate through the Spartan 'D', they also had trouble getting it in between the pipes and past sophomore goalie Daniel Heinrich. The first-year starter for the Spartans registered eight saves on MoVal's 18 shot attempts.
 
Saturday's home game was just a little teaser for what's to come this Spring with four home games in a row between March 31 – April 8. In the meantime, MBU will begin a four-game roadswing on Thursday starting with Clarke University (March 17).