Bryan Harfenist (Sr.)

March 6, 2007 -- The Oberlin men's lacrosse team kicked off its 2007 season this afternoon by voyaging to Delaware, Ohio, to face North Coast Athletic Conference and national power Ohio Wesleyan University. The contest marked the Yeomen's first time this year outside on a full-sized field, and despite chilly playing conditions and being squared up against one of the top programs in the country, the visitor put up a strong fight against the Bishops. Ohio Wesleyan (2-1, 1-0 NCAC) pulled away in the end, claiming a 20-8 victory, but things certainly didn't come easy against Head Coach Kevin Walz's Yeomen (0-1, 0-1 NCAC).

Oberlin fell behind early tonight, trailing 0-6 after the first quarter of play. In the second period, though, the Yeomen matched the Bishops at 4-4 and only trailed 4-7 at one point. The hosts were able to hold off a stingy Oberlin offense in the third and fourth quarters both by the score of 5-2.

The eight goals the Yeomen scored today were the most in a conference contest in over a year. Last season, Oberlin put up six goals against Wittenberg on April 22. Leading the way today were senior co-captain Bryan Harfenist and a pair of first-years, Erik Strand and Alex Jacobs. All three Yeomen picked up a pair of goals to account for the majority of the team's scoring output. Senior co-captain Ian Mark and junior Chris Sanders also tallied goals. Sophomore midfielder Jesse Kane did a solid job of distributing the ball today, racking up a pair of assists.

"For the most part tonight, both teams did an excellent job of taking advantage of the other's mistakes," Walz said. "We received a lot of help from our first-years and Drew [Zambelli] was impressive in the cage with 27 saves."

Oberlin will return to action on March 10 when it travels to Shenandoah University for a 2:00 p.m. non-conference match-up.