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Final Stats
April 16 - If you looked heartbreak up in the dictionary, all you would see would be the faces of the Oberlin (0-7) men’s lacrosse team after their game with Adrian College (5-6). Trailing for the entirety of the regulation frame, down four goals with less than five minutes left to play, nullifying that lead, and then watching the ball painfully slip into the upper left corner in overtime, the Yeomen were stupefied by the result of this affair that ended 15-14 against their favor.
In the first quarter, Adrian’s Jeff Ivey lead the way for the Bulldogs, scoring a hat-trick in the first fifteen minutes to put Oberlin, who found themselves on the board via goals from first-year Nick “Hyphy” Thypin-Bermeo and sophomore Nick Sherman, down 4-2 at the end of the frame.
Incredibly, it was Oberlin’s own sophomore Alex Jacobs and junior Jesse Kane who responded to Ivey’s threat in front of goal. Between the two they found the twine five times in the second quarter to help maintain proximity to Ivey, who scored yet another three times, and the Bulldogs who would end up taking the 9-7 lead to halftime.
The third quarter saw a significant drop in goals, as the goalkeeping was the story of the fifteen-minute frame. Senior cage dweller Drew Zambelli was beyond sensational in the third, as well as the entirety of the game, saving 17 shots, and his efforts kept the match close, holding Ivey to a single goal. But Oberlin was unable to cut into the lead as Adrian’s Eric Landstrom did everything possible to keep the Yeomen at bay as the Bulldogs increased their lead to 12-9 heading into the fourth.
Although staring defeat in the face, the Yeomen offensive resurgence began at the precise time to bring the affair into a tie. First-year Rob Bond brought the tie into question by netting his tenth of the year before Ivey, who ended the game with eight goals, scored the last of his two to bring dismay to the faces of the Oberlin faithful. At 14-10 and with less than five minutes to play, the game seemed far out of reach. But to Kane, no lead is ever too great while time still remains on the clock. The junior’s “never say die” attitude netted him another goal and started a remarkable comeback that saw goals from first-year Alex Chapman, Jacobs and sophomore Erik Strand to close regulation at 14-14.
Tired, battered and bruised, the two teams took to the face-off line one last time in the five-minute sudden death overtime. Unfortunately, the day belonged to the Bulldogs who finally nipped the Yeomen to the ground with a goal by Tony Schrank to end the game 15-14 in favor of Adrian.
Cruel is the only word applicable to this ending. Hopefully, cruel will make way for glory as the Yeomen next line-up against NCAC foe Wooster on Saturday, April 19 at 1 p.m.
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