Men's lax battles, comes up shy of victory

The men's lacrosse team lost a home-and-home with the College of Wooster last Saturday and Wednesday, 10-1 and 11-5. During break, the Yeoman also lost to St. Vincent and conference foes Wittenberg and Kenyon.

Though undermanned, the Yeomen were capable of matching Wooster's Fighting Scots and coming out ahead. But lack of tight play, depth and inexperience led to a general lack of intensity. "We came out looking for someone to step up and no one did," sophomore defenseman John Buff said.

The Yeoman kept the game close in the first half, trailing 2-1 until a two-goal burst by the Scots before the half. Oberlin came out flat the second half, and Wooster ran up the score. "We just didn't play well, we couldn't get it together," senior captain midfielder Matt Jensen said.

Fortunately for the Yeoman, they improved during their second game against Wooster, showing brief spurts of tight play and hard-hitting defense. That said, spurts are just that; otherwise, the team could not capitalize on individual efforts by sophomore Evan Kelley and junior Ben Bernard. Kelley and Bernard provided all the offense, scoring all five goals in an 11-5 Scots win. Kelley recorded a hat trick to increase his team-leading total to 10 goals. Sophomore Terry Jue and senior Im Soo Kwak laid out several Wooster players with bone-crunching hits and held their own.

But those individual efforts could not overshadow the lack of cohesiveness and intensity. "There were moments where we would be on defense for like to minutes, and teams will take advantage of that." Buff said. "We couldn't find the corners on attack. We have a lot of potential, and we are also pretty young, so it's still a learning experience."

Jensen also spoke of the team's inconsistency and inability to keep up their focus for four quarters. "We played in spurts, there were moments where we played well, but overall we couldn't put together a whole game."

Jue was optimistic concerning the squad's potential. "When we play well, we can beat a lot of teams, but we have to keep it up for the whole game. That's what we are working on now. We have the talent and desire, but the mental toughness break down and we have to play more like a team and less like 10 individuals."

Kelley's third goal belonged on a highlight reel. After receiving a pass next to net, he leaped up and quickly shot the ball between the goalie's legs. Freshman attackman Dave Rooklin also played solid. He kept a ball alive deep in the Wooster end after taking several hits by multiple defenders before setting up the offense. After the ball was swung around, Kelley capitalized from in front of the net for his first goal with just nine seconds left in the first quarter. Kelley later scored a power-play goal in the second quarter.

Buff summarized the team's play thus far. "We have a lot of potential, we're young and the young guys are learning what college lacrosse is about. We may not be winning, but we play hard."

The Yeomen's next game is home tomorrow against Marietta College.

Not so fast: A Yeoman vies for the ball. (photo by Katie Speiss)