By Anna Dunlavey
This past Saturday, April 13, the oldest men’s lacrosse program in the Midwest ﾗ the Kenyon Lords ﾗ took on one of the youngest. This is the Hiram College Terriers’ first season with a lacrosse program, and the Lords defeated their newest North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) challengers 17-1.
“We knew going in that it wouldn’t be a challenge lacrosse-wise. It was more of us getting our system straight,” Zach Arlia ’14 said. According to the numbers, the Lords did exactly that.
The 17 goals, 23 points (the combination of total goals and goals with assists), 32 shots on goal and 51 recovered ground balls were all-new season records. Arlia led the Lords with th
ree goals, but four other Lords also scored multiple goals. In total, 11 different Lords scored in the victory, and a few other Lords earned points for assisting on the goals.
The game served as a confidence booster for the Lords, not only because of the win but also because of the entire team’s involvement. “A lot of young guys got in for the first time,” Head Coach Doug Misarti said. “It’s always nice when that can happen.”
Every player on the roster was able to participate in the game. Even the two goalies, Patrick Shevelson ’16 and Justin Sheehan ’13, both played, switching after the first half. Each goalie had six saves, but the lone Hiram goal in the fourth period spoiled the shutout for Sheehan.
On Tuesday, the NCAA statistics report was released. Jacobs has a 67-win percentage, having won 153 out of 229 faceoffs. He is ranked 11th in the nation in faceoff wins. Because of Jacobs’ contributions, the Lords now have the fifth-highest faceoff win percentage in the country.
“I feel great and am very proud for the current recognitions that our team and I are receiving, and I am going to keep trying my best to help gain more,” Jacobs said. He also credited his teammates, saying, “My wingmen and teammates have helped greatly to get our faceoff percentage to where it is.”
“Wooster’s going to be a close game. We know that going in,” Arlia said. The game, held last night in Wooster, Ohio, was close indeed, but the Lords lost 5-7.
On Saturday, the Lords will host DePauw University, a team that, like Hiram, is only in its first year. The game will be the Lords’ final regular season game and home game, as well as Senior Day. Differing levels of experience could result in a victory for the Lords, now 3-3 in the NCAC.
Misarti said that a win could mean being one of the four teams to qualify for the conference tournament. If all goes well, he said, “we’ll certainly lock up the number-three seed in the conference.”
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