By Travis Larner, Knighthawks.com—
The Dirty Lacrosse Club is off to a strong start at the 22nd Annual Hawaii Lacrosse Invitational at Kapiolani Park in Honolulu. Dirty Lax heads into Sunday’s semifinals after three convincing wins on Friday and Saturday.

Dirty Lax has outscored its opponents 42-5 in its first three games of the tournament.

Against Kanto from Japan in Game 1 on Friday, jet lag from the long trip may have been the reason what Dirty Lax General Manager Adam Gardner described as a “slow and sloppy start.”
“We did not get our first goal on the board until almost eight minutes into the game. Once we did do that we settled in nicely and began to find our rhythm nicely,” added Gardner.

Rochester Knighthawks all-star Cody Jamieson netted the first goal for Dirty Lax to get his team rolling, followed by one from fellow Iroquois National Jeremy Thompson. A pair of first-round picks from the 2012 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft then paired up for two goals. First overall pick Mark Matthews assisted on two goals by Kiel Matisz, the third overall pick. Matisz’s Minnesota Swarm teammate, goaltender Evan Kirk, was perfect in the net, backstopping his team to a 16-0 shutout.

“The defense was very solid and forced many turnovers that allowed us to move the ball in transition,” said Gardner. He also credited former RIT standout MJ Kiekebelt for his effort as a long stick midfielder.

Dirty Lax dominated Hawaii Dakine on Saturday in Game 2 of the tournament. Matthews opened the game with two of the first three goals, with another assist from Matisz on the first of the contest. Stephen Keogh of the defending World Champion Knighthawks scored four times as he led his team to a 15-1 victory.

“Keogh was a human highlight reel this game on the crease, was always in the right place and knew where the net was,” said Gardner. “We came out with all cylinders firing and were on fire.”

In Game 3 against San Francisco-based Barbary Coast, Dirty Lax found itself down 4-1 early, trailing for the first time in the entire tournament. However, they would score the final 10 goals to win 11-4. Kevin Ross and Jamie Lincoln each scored twice to lead the offense.

“The game changer came when we were at 4-3,” said Gardner. “Keogh hunted down a loose ball and caught a Barbary Coast player with his head down knocked him over with a clean, hard body check leaving the much bigger player picking himself up slowly. On the next play, Jesse Gamble then scored a shorthanded goal and at this point the momentum had shifted.”

The semifinals for the Men’s Elite division will take place at 12:30 p.m. HST. Dirty Lax will take on Olympic Club for a chance to return to the finals. Reigning tournament champions Wimmer Solutions, featuring 2012 MLL Offensive Player of the Year Paul Rabil, Hall-of-Famer Gary Gait, and former Syracuse All-American Ryan Powell, will face off against Beer Hunters from British Columbia in the other semifinal.

Winners from the semifinal round will play for the Hawaiian Koa Spear Award at 2:45 p.m. HST. Wimmer Solutions defeated Dirty Lax 5-4 for the 2011 Hawaii Tournament title.