Kleven sparks men’s club lacrosse to national semifinal

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GREENVILLE, S.C. — Midfielder Matt Kleven’s seven goals fired the top-ranked St. Thomas men’s club lacrosse team to the semifinal round of the MCLA Division II national tournament after its 18-8 defeat of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.) 18-8 Tuesday.

St. Thomas (15-0) receives a day of rest before facing fourth-seeded Liberty (Va.) (18-1) Thursday at 1 p.m. in the Final Four.

Attackman Dan Burke runs the ball up the field past two Johnnie defenders in an April battle with St. John's. (Morgan Neu/TommieMedia)
Attackman Dan Burke runs the ball up the field past two Johnnie defenders in an April battle with St. John's. (Morgan Neu/TommieMedia)

Unlike Monday’s slow start against DePaul, the Tommies scored early and often, going up 3-0 midway through the first quarter. However, the ninth-seeded Bears (12-3) fought back, pulling within 3-2 late in the opening frame. That was the closest the U.S. Coast Guard Academy got to St. Thomas the rest of the game.

St. Thomas took a 12-7 lead into the break, courtesy of three second-quarter goals by Kleven. In the second half, the Tommies outscored the Bears 6-1 and did not surrender a goal from the early third quarter on.

Other scorers for St. Thomas included: Peter Schubloom, Ben Alberts, Will Hersman, James Maki, John-Michael Coon, David Chlipala, Danny Burke, Peter Carbonneau and Chris Moulton.

St. Thomas used its chances on the man up, converting on seven of those occasions.

Fellow UMLL club team and third-seed St. John’s plays second-seeded Westminster Thursday in the other semifinal.

Ross Schreck can be reached at schr8250@stthomas.edu.