Men's lacrosse sticks a win, then loses

The men's lacrosse team played the best and the worst of the lacrosse world this week.

On Saturday the Yeomen beat Marietta College, a team to which they have never lost to, 6-5. Tuesday, the Yeomen played one of the best teams in the country, Denison University, and lost 26-1.

While Oberlin expected nothing less than a victory on Saturday, they did not bring a complete team with them to Marietta. Senior Scott Sheppard was unavailable to start in goal because he was attending his sister's wedding.

Filling in for Sheppard was junior Matt Jensen. Jensen is no stranger to the goal crease, as he played goal in high school. He performed well, stacking up 12 saves and allowing five goals.

"Matt played very well. He had an outstanding game," said Coach Jim Donovan.

Without Jensen's scoring touch on the attack, senior Garth Stidolph picked up the slack by scoring three goals.

It was the first hat trick of Stidolph's career, whose play has improved steadily since he joined the team. Senior Sam Krasnow said, "He has improved leaps and bounds. He has innate athleticism, and demands excellence of himself."

Rounding out the scoring were Krasnow with two goals, and first-year Andrew Kim with the first goal of his career. Kim's scored on a beautiful feed from junior Im Soo Kwak just before the end of the first half.

Marietta offered up a pretty hostile environment for Oberlin. "It was unusual for us, we have never lost to them," said Donovan. The Yeomen played a physical 60 minutes, and had to deal with a testy crowd. "Before the game there were dozens of rowdy frat fans, and we quickly silenced their jeers," said Krasnow.

On Tuesday Oberlin clashed with the Denison Big Red, and received a sound thumping. Denison trashed Oberlin for 26 goals, while Oberlin managed only one tally against this lacrosse powerhouse.

Denison is currently ranked number 11 in the country, but is just as good as the number one team, Ohio Wesleyan University. Denison recently lost in the final seconds to Ohio Wesleyan, and dropped to number 11 in the country. "There's really no difference between them and Ohio Wesleyan, which is the number one team in the conference," said Jensen.

Denison is a superior team in every facet of the game. Oberlin cannot be faulted for the loss. They brought 13 players to Denison, and faced a team that had nearly 40 men. Denison's highly skilled army reeled off 11 goals in the first half, and never looked back. Denison had 57 shots to Oberlin's 15.

Oberlin could have given up on the game before they got off the team bus, but that's not Coach Donovan's philosophy. "Our attitude is that you come out and play hard. We don't go into the game figuring that we are going to lose," said Donovan.

Despite the loss, the Yeomen took some valuable lessons away from the contest. Donovan said, "You play good people you ought to learn something about them."

Sophomore Ben Bernard played for the first time this year on Saturday, and was a welcome addition to the team's offense. Even though he did not factor in on Oberlin's only goal of the game, from Stidolph, he should help this weekend against Wittenberg University.

Oberlin played Wittenberg in their second game of the year, and lost 20-3, but has improved since that contest.

"The level of excitement and enthusiasm is great. We can improve," Krasnow said.

Wind up toy: Senior Sam Krasnow runs the ball down the field as team members look on. The Yeomen beat Marietta Saturday. (photo by Zach Fried)