By Esteban Bachelet
With players and coaches battling stomach flu, the Lords lacrosse team swallowed an 8-12 loss last Friday to the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops, a team that has scored more than 20 goals in each of three different games this season. The Lords kept Ohio Wesleyan under 20 but lost for the first time in conference play, dropping to 2-1 in the NCAC and 6-6 overall and snapping their five-game win streak.
We beat them last year. We knew they were going to come out and try to get us this year. It was their senior night as well, co-captain Justin Sheehan 13 said. We knew they were going to come out with a lot of intensity. We matched it for the first quarter but then they pulled away the second quarter and went on a run.
Nicky Lenard 15 had three goals on the day, and Justin Coleman 15 netted two early in the first quarter. But the Bishops came roaring back and took a 4-2 lead at the start of the second.
The Lords soon leveled the score with goals from Trey Trudell 16 and Lenard. We were playing well, had them at their heels, Assistant Coach Gary DiClementi said. But the Battling Bishops put the game out of reach with a five-goal surge late into the second quarter and early into the third quarter. With the score at 9-4, the Lords could not catch up.
We didnt win face-offs in that [five-goal Ohio Wesleyan] surge, DiClementi said. We turned the ball over too much. We didnt clear very well. A lot of things went wrong in that short period of time. The guys know that. They are aware. We have to get our hands free and protect the ball, value the ball.
Sheehan added that Ohio Wesleyan was able to capitalize on a few minor mistakes that our defense made and the turnovers that have been bugging us all year. We just couldnt respond.
The return of Will Lowe 14 and Lenard, who both recently recovered from injuries and were sharing the field for the first time this season, bolstered the Lords. Patrick Shevelson 16 added a career-high 14 saves to his achievements.
Patrick has been playing very well for us all season. He has a learning curve. That was only his [sixth] game starting. Certainly some areas to improve but he made some real big saves for us that kept the game as close as it was, DiClementi said.
Sheehan was equally impressed with his young teammate. The Ohio Wesleyan game was a huge test, and he was up to it, Sheehan said. He met the challenge.
The Lords faced an even stiffer challenge Wednesday evening: 13th-ranked Denison University. As a part of Division III Week, Kenyon students and fans were asked to wear white in the hopes of bleaching out the Big Red when the Lords took on Denison yesterday.
Despite the color coordination and a strong effort, the Lords lost to the Big Red 3-6. Heading into the third quarter, the Lords only trailed Denison by one goal, but the Big Red took advantage of a man-up situation and scored another goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The Lords won the face-off after the goal, but Denison caused a few turnovers and scored twice more in the quarter. A goal by Fritz Waine 15 with a minute remaining in the game was too little, too late.
The Lords next game is this Saturday, April 13 at Hiram College.
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