By Nina Zimmerman

Despite frigid temperatures, biting gusts of wind, pelting raindrops and Head Coach Doug Misartis battle with a head cold, the Lords lacrosse team powered through and won its first game of the season, a 9-7 victory over Washington and Jefferson College, on Tuesday, Feb. 26. The win allowed the team to rebound after an unfortunate 5-13 loss to Roanoke College in Virginia this past weekend.

At McBride Field on Tuesday the Presidents struck first with a goal midway through the first quarter. But Justin Coleman 15 answered it with one of his own by the quarters end. The Lords took the lead halfway through the second quarter, when co-captain Chris Pappalardo 13 scored his first goal of the season. But the Presidents fought back and tied the game 3-3 just before halftime. After the half, Coleman, who leads the Lords in scoring this season, gave Kenyon back the lead with another unassisted goal. Two minutes later, Trey Trudell 16 scored, and then scored again. The Lords went on a tear late in the third quarter, when Pappalardo and Trudell launched unassisted goals into the Presidents net, and team co-captain Mackie Avis 13 tossed in two goals of his own, giving the Lords a 9-4 advantage heading into the final quarter. The Presidents scored three times in the fourth, but the Lords hung on for a 9-7 win.

Were happy to have the win, Misarti said. The first ones can be the toughest ones to get sometimes.

The teams previous game against nationally-ranked Roanoke on Saturday, Feb. 23 did not go as well. Misarti said that the game was a lot closer than the final score indicates. The Lords trailed only 5-2 at halftime, and the score remained close until the Maroons went on a five-goal run late in the third quarter. If you take away that run that they went on, I think we played at their level for about three quarters, maybe two-thirds, but I think we proved to ourselves that we can play at that level, and I think that was very important for us, Misarti said.

We were with them, and at some points we saw some flashes of brilliance and at other points we had some breakdowns, Avis said. You have to play the best to be the best.

Heading into spring break, the Lords face a series of non-conference games against some tough opponents. They will play Sewanee: the University of the South this Saturday in Gambier. They will then travel to Pennsylvania to face Franklin and Marshall College and to Georgia to face Berry College on March 5 and March 11, respectively. The victory against the Presidents is just the beginning for the Lords this season, especially for the teams six seniors, according to Avis, who said they are hungry for more after being eliminated from the NCAA tournament in the first round last year.

Going to the national tournament was great and everything last year, but [especially] us six seniors, we dont want to just get to the tournament and beat Denison and Ohio Wesleyan, Avis said. We want to get there and make a run and do some damage.

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