EILEEN BAER

Staff Writer

After spending spring break in Maryland, where the Big Red defeated Montclair State University, Dickinson College, and Nazareth College, the men’s lacrosse team returned home to open up conference play at Piper Stadium on Saturday, March 26. In their first North Coast Athletic Conference game, Denison defeated DePauw 17-3. No. 8 Denison showed no mercy, scoring 14 goals before DePauw was able to respond.

“We were excited to play well with great focus and energy,” said Head Coach Mike Caravana. “That was the difference in our great start and making it difficult for DePauw to get going.”

The Big Red completely dominated the first half of the game. It was not until the end of the third quarter that the Tigers were able to find the back of the net, scoring two goals with five minutes remaining. With 52 seconds left in the game, the Big Red finished the third quarter with a goal by Jack Thomas ’18 (assisted by Jack Ruf ‘17). In the fourth quarter, Andrew Wright scored DePauw’s third and final goal of the game. Seven minutes later, Denison answered with an unassisted goal by Aidan Maher ‘19.  Another unassisted goal was scored with 2:48 left by Garrett Stockdale ‘17.

Denison outperformed DePauw in almost every aspect of the game. Denison outshot DePauw 44-17 and also beat the Tigers in groundballs 43-22. Whereas only two players added points to the scoreboard for the Tigers, 11 different players scored the Big Red’s 17 goals. Will Donahue ‘17, Alex Paulus ‘17, Liam Rooney ‘17, Nick Bortolani ‘16, Blair Farinholt ‘16, Ben Duhoski ‘18, James Meager ‘16, Jake Waxter ‘19, Thomas, Aidan Maher ‘19, and Stockdale all scored for Denison.

Denison’s defense did an excellent job of controlling the rhythm of the game as well. Teddy Sawyer ‘17, Thomas Farrell ‘17, Duhoski, Josh Happ ‘18, and Brian Miller ‘16 led the defense.

Two weeks ago, Sawyer was named the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association’s (USILA) Division III Defensive Player of the Week for the South Region, and on Monday, March 21 he was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week. 

The win against DePauw marked Denison’s sixth victory in a row. Undefeated at home, the Big Red boasts an overall record of 7-1 and a conference record of 1-0. The team will travel to Springfield, Ohio on Saturday, April 2 to play the Wittenberg Tigers in a conference match.  They are 6-2 overall and will be attempting to record their third conference victory this season.  Look for the Big Red to extend their winning streak into April.

Photo Courtesy of Derek Finney/The Denisonian