The men’s lacrosse team arrived in Angola, IN, with momentum from a strong 8–3 victory over Shenandoah University on March 12. This momentum wouldn’t be enough, however, as the Yeomen were unable to overcome missed opportunities and numerous injuries in a 12–4 loss against the Trine University Thunder on March 16.

The Yeoman arrived with only 15 healthy players for the game. An injury to sophomore goalie Thomas Cool during the prior evening’s practice resulted in junior Teddy Pallis having to start at goalie. This was Pallis’ first-ever start at the position, and the lack of primary face-off specialist, sophomore midfielder Eli Clark-Davis, taxed the depth of the roster, leaving senior midfielder Rob Bond with primary face-off responsibilities, in addition to his other duties.

The Yeomen dug themselves in an early hole after allowing the Thunder to open the first quarter with four straight goals.This lead was bolstered by another goal early in the second quarter that raised the tally to 5¬–0. The Yeomen defense, led by the efforts of Pallis, managed to buckle down for the rest of the quarter and deny the Thunder any more goals. At the same time, first-year midfielder Mickey Fiorillo and junior attackmen Dylan Holmes added a goal each, pulling the game to a 5–2 score at halftime. Fiorillo’s goal strengthened his impressive rookie accomplishments this season, the most notable being the North Coast Athletic Conference player of the week honors he received as a result of his play in a win against Shenandoah University on March 12.

The Yeomen had difficulty stopping the Thunder during the second half though, as they were outscored 7–2. The two goals from the Yeomen were netted by sophomore attackmen Thomas Hake and Connor Jackson. Hake and Jackson have been consistent contributors for the Yeomen offense so far this season, with Hake having scored 10 total points and Jackson having put up six total points of his own. Hake had a spectacular freshmen season that resulted in 42 points and a North Coast Athletic Conference all-conference award. He will look to surpass these accomplishments by continuing his strong showing this year with consistency down the stretch.

This loss was a difficult one for the Yeomen and first year head-coach Topher Grossman, who now fall to a record of 2–2. Despite this setback, the season is still young and the future is still bright for the squad, which has the talent and coaching to achieve higher levels of success than any of the Yeomen’s past teams.

“This team’s going to do good things this year. Teams in our league are looking past us, but with the talent and coaching we have, we’re going to do big things,” Jackson said. “It’s like that scene from the movie Training Day, when Denzel [Washington] is driving into the bad neighborhood, and all the people are trying to signal that he’s coming: ‘Flip the pigeons, because we’re out here.’”

The Yeomen will get the weekend off but look to rebound from their loss in an away game against Ohio Wesleyan University next Wednesday, March 23 in Delaware, OH.