On a cold and rainy Wednesday evening, Oberlin Men’s Lacrosse players made history, advancing to the championship game of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament for the first time in program history, with a 13–7 win over The College of Wooster in the semifinals.
In the high-stakes game, the Yeomen responded to the task, leading all four quarters. Third-year Asher Friedman led the scoring with a hat trick, and second-year Nicholas Cuda had five points, including two goals and three assists. The Yeomen dominated the face-off, going 22–24 at the line, led by a stellar career performance from third-year Evan Sardina who went 19–20. This led to a huge mismatch in total shots: Oberlin took 45 shots, while Wooster only attempted 23.
This historic feat is only one of many in the last few weeks for the Yeomen: After defeating Wabash College 16–7 on Senior Day on Saturday, April 25, they clinched their first share of an NCAC title, their first playoff berth, and the first No. 1 seed in program history. Additionally, the win marked the first time the team reached six conference wins.
“I think what made Senior Day pretty cool was that, yes, we did get the win, but we were also able to rotate a lot of guys in,” Head Coach Ryan Polak said. “We [almost] played [nearly] the entire bench, which was great. There are some guys on the team that are seniors that don’t play as many minutes as other guys, but to get them on the field, to have them run around, make a couple plays, do this and that, was pretty fulfilling.”
Despite claiming the NCAC title, it is a crown they share with five other teams. For the first time in conference history, five teams — including Denison University, Kenyon College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Wooster, and Oberlin — all tied for first place, with each team with earning a 6–2 record of 6–2. The tournament seeding was determined via a points system. A regulation win is three points, and an overtime victory is two points for the winning team and one point for the losing team. Oberlin ended with 19 points; Ohio Wesleyan, Denison, and Wooster finished with 18 points; and Kenyon finished with 17 points, causing the Owls to miss the conference tournament despite winning a share of the regular season title.
Though the title is exciting, the Yeomen are setting their sights higher and hoping for a tournament championship.
“[The conference title] is great for the guys, but I think, at the same time, the team’s also looking at that being like, ‘We weren’t the only one,’” Polak said. “I think we’re very much turning our attention toward the tournament. … We want to be the last one standing.”
After losing to Wooster in the regular season 12–11, Oberlin came out fighting in the semifinal.
“The Wooster game in the regular season was probably a low for us. … But then we turned around and took down Denison the next game,” Polak remarked. “When we’re playing at our best, we’re one of the best teams in the conference, but it’s having that consistency that’s the question mark. It’s a resilient group, and when the lights are the brightest, that’s when we get the best from our guys.”
The Yeomen did a great job under the bright lights of their home stadium, supported by the hundreds of fans including students, families, and faculty that showed up to support them. Despite the rain, fans came out in droves to keep the energy up and let the team know the fans had their backs. Their Wednesday win adds to their season record of 8–0 at home and makes it their 10th win in a row at their home stadium going back to last season.
After tying with five other teams for the title, Oberlin came out on top of the tie-breaking procedure, naming them the No. 1 seed in a four-team playoff bracket. Ohio Wesleyan and Denison, the No. 2 and 3 seeds respectively, also played Wednesday night, with OWU coming away with the semifinal win on the other side of the bracket. OWU and Denison have previously dominated the NCAC, with those two teams owning all of the tournament titles and collecting all No. 1 seedings — except for this season — in tournament history.
The championship game against OWU will be a battle; though the Yeomen defeated them 16–7 in the regular season, it was their first win against the Battling Bishops since 1970. The team will have to put on another stellar performance in order to come away with the win. Polak has absolute belief in his players and emphasizes mentality as key to winning.
“It’s [just] a game, it’s no different than any other, right?” he said. “Yes, the stakes might be higher, but it’s just another lacrosse team. Just go do your thing, go play hard, and we’ll be fine.”
Oberlin will host the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Bailey Field to vie for the ultimate conference title, in hopes of making even more history in an already unprecedented season.
