On Sunday, March 6, the men’s lacrosse team opened their 2005 season with a game against York College. Although the Yeomen fell 8-3 to York College, the team played hard, picking up momentum in the second half. Sophomore Ian Mark led the team in scoring, netting two goals. Junior Will Jaffee contributed an assist and sophomore Bryan Harfenist added another goal and one assist to the Yeomen’s offensive play. Led by junior goalkeeper Jared Pickard, who stopped 18 shots, the defense played well, repeatedly shutting down the York attack.

The Yeomen’s real difficulty came from the cold and wet weather which had prevented the team from playing outside before Sunday’s match. “Up until Sunday, we hadn’t played on a full field. This game was the first opportunity our team has had to spread out and combine all the elements of our game,” commented senior Dan Cole. “There was great improvement between the first and fourth quarters. As the game went on we gained confidence, developed a feel for the field and were able to work out a lot of the kinks.”

An excessive amount of penalties hurt the Yeomen. They accumulated nine penalties, totaling seven and a half minutes of playing man-down. That was more than double the penalties for which York was called-four penalties for three minutes.

Oberlin showed improvement in the fourth quarter, taking nine of their 20 shots in the final 15 minutes. The Yeomen were outscoring York in the final quarter 2-1, until York scored with 38 seconds remaining while many of the Yeomen backups were playing.

After watching things come together in the fourth quarter of the game, the team is confident about their upcoming season. “The team is the best it has been,” said Cole. “Our offense is stronger than ever, the attack has great chemistry, the middies give us even more depth and we have a very strong defense to back it all up. I am excited to see what we will be able to do this year.”

Due to poor field conditions on York College’s grass field, the teams played on the turf field of Gettysburg College. Prior to the game’s 3 p.m. start, Head Coach Kevin Walz took his team for a short field trip to Gettysburg National Military Park.

The players paid a small fee to compensate the tour guide who gave them a one and a half hour tour of the grounds. None of the players had previously been to the battlegrounds. The tour guide walked the team through a day-by-day account of the gruesome three-day battle resulting in 51,000 soldiers killed, wounded or captured. Experiencing a small glimpse of the Civil War’s bloodiest battle allowed the team to capture a greater appreciation that humbled their achievements on the athletic field. “The trip to the battlefield inspired me,” said first-year Drew Terry. “It gave me perspective on the fact that so many people have died to make our country what it is today.”