WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. – Despite a furious rally at the end of the game, the No. 4-ranked St. Thomas men’s lacrosse team fell to No. 3-ranked St. John’s University 12-10 in the Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference Division-II championship game Sunday night.

Attackman Dan Burke and midfielder Matt Kleven each scored three goals in the losing effort, but coach Peter Moosbrugger said he would have liked to see the Tommies play a more complete game.

“In the end, we didn’t put four quarters together. I thought we started off good, then we kind of went into a lull in the middle of the game. Then all of the sudden when the pressure was on us, we came together and put goals in the back of the net,” Moosbrugger said. “Against quality teams, those lulls hurt you.”

The Tommies jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal from Burke. Burke received a pass in front of the net from attackman Sean Hickey and made no mistake on his shot for the game’s first goal.

Following a slashing penalty called on the Tommies’ Joel Friebe, the Johnnies answered with a powerplay goal from midfielder Ben Martynec to tie the score at one.

The two teams traded scores until the end of the first quarter when the score stood 3-2 in favor of St. Thomas. In the second quarter, the Tommies got goals from Kleven and midfielder Sam Shreve while St. John’s benefitted from four goals, two of which were scored by midfielder Alex Leivermann.

The Tommies trailed 6-5 at halftime after leading early in the game, something the team has struggled with all season, Kleven said.

“I thought we came out looking pretty good offensively, then we kind of slowed down in the second and third quarter,” Kleven said. “We’ve had that problem all season, we haven’t strung four quarters together, but that’s something we’ve been trying to work on.”

The second half started on a low note for St. Thomas when St. John’s scored two quick goals, including one highlight-reel play from midfielder Jake Senta, who picked up the ball in his own zone and ran the entire length of the field before scoring.

St. Thomas answered when Kleven took a pass from behind the net, set his feet and whistled a shot past the Johnnie goalie for his second goal of the contest.

The celebration was short lived for the Tommies, however. The Johnnies quickly responded with back-to-back goals to push their lead to 10-6.

The Tommies refused to give up though, and Moosbrugger said the team decided to turn the deficit into motivation.

“We didn’t sit there licking our wounds, we decided to go ahead like a lion ready to go and take over the Serengeti,” Moosbrugger said. “Even though the loss was tough to swallow, I’m excited and proud of our attitude going into the national tournament.”

Kleven completed the hat trick with his third goal of the contest, and after St. John’s attackman Jake Helmer scored a leaping goal, Burke answered by completing a hat trick of his own to cut the Johnnies’ lead to 11-8.

The Tommies battled to within one goal of St. John’s after goals from midfielder John Michael Coon and Hickey made the score 11-10, before St. John’s midfielder Miles Armitage scored to effectively end the St. Thomas rally and give the Johnnies the conference title.

Goaltender Ryan Zeilinger said that even though the loss was painful, the Tommies can still draw positives from the game.

“We fixed a lot of things that we did poorly against them the first time, and I think towards the end we figured out how to beat them,” Zeilinger said. “So if and when we face them again, I think we have the formula down to beat them.”

The Tommies, who are expected to earn an at-large bid to the national tournament, will find out seedings and opponents May 5.

Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu.