The brick wall: Pickard makes one of his many saves in an 11-10 win over Shenandoah.

Men’s lacrosse goalie Jared Pickard has gone to great lengths to maintain a hard work ethic which has in turn helped to take the Yeomen to a higher level. Pickard carries an impressive list of athletic credentials: a captain since his first year on the varsity lacrosse team, he has received conference honors after competing against some of the best teams in the country. And, as a sophomore, his career is just beginning.

Pickard has helped elevate the team from an 0-14 record before his arrival two years ago to a 3-11 record last season, and has gone on to improve with the team to a 5-5 record going into this weekend.

Continuing this season, he has led the man-down defense to the top of the conference with a .810 penalty killing percentage, which is nearly a tenth of a point ahead of some nationally ranked competition, including Ohio Wesleyan University and Denison University in the North Coast Athletic Conference. With over 150 saves, he already has more than any other goalie in the conference and a save percentage of over 60.

Pickard’s talent is rooted in his childhood. Born in Long Island and then raised in Randolph, N.J., Pickard has been playing lacrosse since the fourth grade.

“Lacrosse started in my town in the sixth grade,” Pickard said. “My dad, however, taught me how to play a few years before that, and after a little bit of convincing they let me on the team when I was in fourth grade.”

But Pickard wasn’t satisfied with merely being on the sixth grade team.

“I realized that if I just stepped up and tried goalie I could be a fourth grader and start every game on the sixth grade team. So that’s what happened,” Pickard said.

In high school, Pickard contributed to his team’s success as a four-year starter. His senior year he earned the title of team captain, though it was hardly the beginning of his leadership responsibilities.

“The goalie position is a unique one. The goalie in lacrosse is often compared to the quarterback on a football team in the way he leads the team,” Pickard said.

Later that year Pickard was named first-team all-state goalie in New Jersey, a prestigious honor considering that only one person is awarded this honor each year.

At about the same time, the athletic regime at Oberlin was aggressively trying to build the talent of the men’s lacrosse team, similar to the measures put into place to improve the football team, which had its most successful season last fall in 30 years.

As Pickard’s senior year began to wind down, choosing a college became a priority. Scouted by some of the top teams in the country, including Bowdoin - currently ranked 10th in the nation - Colby, Bates and the University of Virginia, Pickard saw the value of playing for a struggling team such as the Yeomen, where he could be “a big fish in a little pond” and have a chance to start in all four years during his time here.

The fact that Oberlin could land a player of his caliber, though, was proof on campus that the college was intent on bringing high-caliber athletes to the College.

For Pickard’s part, playing time and strong recruitment weren’t the only factors he considered in his decision to come to Oberlin.

“My prospie visit was ultimately what made me choose to come here,” Pickard said. “I had an insanely good time with a bunch of guys on the team and I knew that Oberlin was the school for me.”

Now the Oberlin College men’s lacrosse team sits at an even record of 5-5 with a stellar goalie in front of the net.

Improvement in the men’s lacrosse team has been a priority of the recent athletic regimes, just as improvement in the football team has been.

Asked what the greatest factor was in his current success, Pickard once again points to his past.

“I have been preparing to play college lacrosse for the past 10 years or so of my life. I always knew it was what I wanted to do,” Pickard said.

From the determination of a fourth-grader to be as good as the boys in the sixth grade to the confidence of an NCAA two-year running captain and all-conference honors winner, Pickard has led the way for every lacrosse team he has played on to improve, compete and achieve victory.

Where will the Yeoman goalie’s success end? Perhaps as an All-American Oberlin College graduate Jared Pickard will have that answer, but for now, it’s just another day in the crease.