MIDDLETON, WI – This summer, Missoula Elite Lacrosse continues to raise the bar for lacrosse in Montana. After a long 20 hours in the car and braving through a truly fierce midwest thunderstorm, a group of MEL Men’s Varsity and Junior Varsity players arrived in Wisconsin as the first representatives of their state for the sport of lacrosse in this region. Middleton High School Men’s Varsity Head Coach David Malcolm was excited to be able to host the MEL team, being a University of Montana graduate and former Griz Lacrosse player.

The MEL boys took the field on a hot and humid afternoon, playing in a very nice stadium at Middleton High School. Middleton opened the scoring early in the first, but MEL would answer quickly on a goal by Coty Becker (SR, Valley Christian). The teams played a very even and physical first half, with Middleton leading and Missoula answering. Logan Kuhn (SO, Hellgate) chipped in a goal on a pass from Blue Hayler (SO, Big Sky) and Tanner Pace (JR, Big Sky) scored in the second quarter to bring MEL to within one at the half, trailing only 4 – 3. Brandon Roose (SR, Sentinel) registered 6 saves in the half.

In the 2nd half, the humidity seemed to take a leading role as both teams really slowed down the game. MEL generated some good looks on offense in the 3rd quarter and outshot Middleton, but the Middleton shots were falling on the other end. At the end of the 3rd, Missoula trailed 9 – 3. In the 4th quarter the defense showed their desire to play a full game and really stepped up to jam up the Middleton offense. Ryan Fowler (JR, Big Sky), Lee Raunig (SO, Hellgate), and Jake Smith (SO, Sentinel) each shut down their man for the quarter. Hunter Brandt (JR, Big Sky) chipped in a 4th quarter goal, but Middleton would take the game by a 9 – 4 final. Colton Birdeau (JR, Sentinel) finished with 3 saves in the half.

We would like to thank the Middleton Lacrosse players, parents, and coaches for hosting us today. This was a tremendous step forward for our program and for the sport of lacrosse in Montana and we couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you also to our amazing parent drivers who made sure the boys arrived safely and on time, your support is greatly appreciated!

Photos from the Middleton game can be found by clicking here. Thanks to Gordy Pace for the photos!

Video from the Middleton game can be found by clicking here. Thanks to Gene Fowler for the videos!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 at 10:25 pm and is filed under News, zFeatured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.