Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — In the final game of last season, the Dominican University of California lacrosse team finally beat Bay Area rival Notre Dame de Namur for the first time ending years of frustration.

In the rematch on Saturday in front of a Forest Meadows Field crowd of nearly 500, the Penguins channeled frustration into domination, at least for one game, thanks in great part to a pair of Dominican freshman.

Kevin Powers and Jake Fritz, teammates at Issaquah (Wash.) High School, combined for nine goals and 11 assists as Dominican scored nine straight goals in the first half – six in the span of 4:13 – to build a 10-2 lead before settling for a 16-8 victory over the Argonauts (0-2/0-1) in the Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association opener.

Dominican (1-1/1-0), which led 14-3 at halftime, outshot Notre Dame 49-29 and had 44 groundballs to the Argonauts' 17.

Senior Reed Upson added three goals and an assist for the Penguins while another freshman from Washington state, Jake Bernstein, netted two goals.  The freshmen were introduced to the Dominican-NDNU rivalry and reminded by Dominican seniors that it was their time to change its history.

“They told us that NDNU had won some games by lopsided scores, sometimes scoring in the 20s,” said Powers, who had five goals and five assists.

“They told us we needed to make a statement,” Fritz added.

Fritz either scored or assisted on Dominican's first four goals to rally the Penguins from a 2-1 deficit and Powers netted three of the four goals that pushed the Penguins' lead to 10-2 with more than six minutes left in the second quarter. Dominican, at one point, didn't allow the Argonauts to cross midfield for nearly 10 minutes because freshman Dylan Acevedo and sophomore Blake Crossman kept winning face-offs. The Penguins, in fact, won 21 of 28 face-offs in the contest.

“There were two things that stuck out,” said Head Coach Ned Webster. “We were unselfish and shared the ball. We had 15 assists on 16 goals. But we don't score those goals unless we have the ball. Blake and Dylan did a very good job.”

The best-looking goal for the Penguins on Saturday happened when sophomore Dalton Copeland caused a turnover and, with his back to the NDNU goal, picked up a groundball, turned and passed to Powers who immediately found Fritz uncovered on the left side. Fritz then netted Dominican's fourth goal, which fueled the four-minute goal-scoring frenzy.

“We found our rhythm,” Webster said. “I thought we attacked their zone very intelligently. That's a credit to the guys for being patient and unselfish.”

Copeland and Emmett Faricy also scored for Dominican while Acevedo, Kyle Mitchell and Kiel Crowley-Galvin contributed assists.

Defensively, the Penguins were led by freshman Brian Raaka and Tai Sing Hee, a pair of long stick defenders.

The Penguins will play their third consecutive home game on Thursday when they host Westminster College of Utah. The Griffins (3-0) are ranked No. 6 in the nation in NAIA in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Coaches' Poll. They return 21 players, including three All-Americans, from last year's 13-8 team that won the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference championship.

Last Sunday, Feb. 19, the Penguins played the seventh-ranked NCAA Division II team in the nation, New York Institute of Technology, before a standing room only crowd of 630 at Forest Meadows Field.