The Spartans continued their offensive onslaught Sunday, with the University of Minnesota-Duluth men’s lacrosse team being their most recent victim.

No. 4 Michigan State defeated the No. 24 Bulldogs 9-5 Sunday afternoon, powered by a 5-1 run in the second and third quarters.

“We played all four quarters consistently,” head coach Brandon Schwind said. “Our offense executed and our defense was strong.”

The Spartans (9-2, 4-0) held UMD (4-4, 2-0) to their lowest offensive output of the season, tied with the Bulldogs’ 12-5 loss to No. 1 Arizona State.

“We know UMD is a good team,” Schwind said. “They’re young, but there’s a level of respect there after playing them last year.”

The Bulldogs struck first, scoring at the 8:37 mark in the first quarter. The teams traded goals in the first half, ending with a 3-2 advantage for MSU.

The Spartans then took control of the game behind three goals in less than two minutes in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 6-2. For the second game in a row, junior All-American face-off specialist Joe Mikkelson had an unassisted goal.

“We had a complete lapse in fundamentals against Western (Michigan University),” Schwind said. “We wanted to come out this week playing more fundamentally sound.”

For the third straight game, MSU dominated the second and third quarters while the Spartans outscored UMD 5-1 in that stretch. At the end of the third quarter, MSU was ahead 7-3.

The Bulldogs scored twice in the fourth quarter, but MSU matched them goal-for-goal.

“I’m happy to get out with a win,” Schwind said. “(UMD head) coach (Sam) Litman is a great coach, and we expect to see them in the National Tournament.”

Senior attackman and captain Mitch Hall led MSU with three goals.

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Tyler Beck is the host of Lax Attack for Impact Sports.

Photo: Jonathan Yales/Impact Sports