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Yeomen Remain Confident Despite Recent Loss
Grace Barlow
The men's lacrosse team continued its season through the snow and cold last week, adding three losses and a win to its record. The Yeomen now sit at 5–5 overall and 0–3 in North Coast Athletic Conference play.
The Yeomen started the break with a tough game against NCAC foe, the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops. Due to inclement weather earlier in the month, the Yeomen's earlier home games were moved to neutral locations, this game marked the first time that the team played on Oberlin's own Fred Shults Field. Oberlin had a balanced attack throughout the game, with four different Yeomen scoring, while junior goalie Erickson Andrews tallied a season-high 15 saves. However, the team's effort was not enough to take down the Bishops, with Oberlin ultimately losing 5–9.
The Yeomen had a quick turnaround after the loss as they took on the Drew University Rangers in New Jersey over break. Although the Rangers outshot the Yeomen 46–38, the attack rallied in the fourth quarter, netting four goals. Sophomore Nick Lobley played a key role in the team's win, with less than five minutes remaining in the game, Lobley scored the equalizer to tie the Yeomen with the Rangers at 8–8. Lobley also netted the game-winning goal off an assist from senior Connor Jackson with 10 seconds to go, securing the fifth win of the season for the Yeomen.
"The team was very resilient on spring break. We were down three goals late in the third and were able to chip away to win the game on the last possession. Players stepped up when they needed to, but there is no doubt it was a team effort to complete the win," said Head Coach Topher Grossman.
The Yeomen closed out the week with a heartbreaking loss to NCAC rival, the Kenyon College Lords as strong winds and heavy snowfall bombarded the home field on the final weekend of spring break. Sophomore Alex Wagman and Lobley continued their scoring run with two goals apiece, with sophomore Matt Fox also contributing to the attack.
Although the Yeomen dominated the game in shots taken as well as ground balls, the team fell 5–6 to the Lords. First-year Kinori Rosnow helped the Yeomen control the ground balls, finishing the game with a team high of seven, as well as winning 10 of the game's 13 faceoffs.
"Kenyon is a really important game for us," said junior midfielder Sean Seaman. "It is a game that is circled on everyone's calendar the entire year. We played hard and fought through tough conditions but just didn't come out with a win. Now we just have to look forward to the other conference games to give us a chance to make it to the post-season and do some damage."
The Yeomen did not have much time to recover from Saturday's loss, as they traveled to Denison University just three days later. The Denison University Big Red entered the match ranked fifth in the country and fourth in scoring offense in Division III. First-years Mac Husted and John Firestone, along with Lobley and senior Connor Jackson, were the lone scorers in the 4–12 loss.
Despite starting 0-3 in the NCAC, the team remains optimistic about the second half of the season.
"I would like to see us give a really good effort regardless of who we're playing, and we need to bring strong intensity to practice every day if we want to finish the season strong," said sophomore goalkeeper Miles Brooke.
"Our mindset will remain the same," said Rosnow. "We will fight to win every time we step on the field."
Rosnow also added that the team will draw from their game against Drew University to bring fire to the rest of the season.
"We held the other team [Drew University] to one goal for 15 minutes while our attack scored five times; when we play hard and smart, we can win almost any game.
Coach Grossman agreed. "Our sights are on the NCAC tournament, but we need to take it one game at a time. There are four big steps we need to get there."
The Yeomen have the weekend off to prepare for a tough game against Wittenberg University on Tuesday April 8. The team returns home to Schults Field on April 12 to take on DePauw University at 1 p.m.
Tags: bounceback, mens lacrosse, spring break
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