Oberlin’s men’s lacrosse team pulled away with an exciting first win of the season, defeating Vassar College 6-5 last Sunday. Prior to the Vassar game, the Yeomen spent their week-long Spring Break practicing in Hilton Head, S.C.

Before heading to Hilton Head, Oberlin played the Guilford College Quakers in N.C. Despite giving up seven goals in the first half, the Yeomen finished the game playing much better. It was not enough, however as they lost 12-4.

After an additional week of practice under their belts, Oberlin faced Vassar at Prentiss Field. While the entire game was neck-and-neck, Oberlin found itself with a two-goal lead heading into the fourth quarter. Vassar fought back to tie it and send the contest into overtime. After a scoreless first overtime, Oberlin took only two minutes to finish off Vassar, with first-year Jesse Kane scoring an unassisted goal.

Fresh off the win, Oberlin was enthused and ready for another showdown as they took on the Big Red of Denison College Wednesday night.

The Yeomen jumped off early with a 2-0 lead in the first half, but Denison quickly capitalized on every opportunity thrown their way, defeating Oberlin 11-4. Junior attacker Bryan Harfenist scored the first two goals for Oberlin, one of which was assisted by senior Andrew Crosby.

The Yeomen were fired up when they took the lead because Denison was favored in the match. Denison’s junior attacker Clay Wawner was the first to get the Big Red on the board with 2:46 left in the first quarter. Sophomore PJ Hendrick evened the score 2-2 with 35 seconds into the second quarter.

Oberlin headed back to the visitors’ locker room down 5-2 at the half. The second half was all Denison as they scored nine unanswered goals, frustrating the Yeomen. Denison held their lead up until four minutes remaining in the match, when Oberlin got back on the board with goals from senior midfielder Will Jaffee and junior attackman Ian Dias.

“I don’t think there’s a team that’s out-hit us,” said Jaffee. “We got a lot of good shots off, but weren’t putting them on the cage.”

Denison’s senior Ted Douglas, Wawner and Hendrick had a combined six goals to lead the Big Red in scoring. Despite the team’s loss, senior goalkeeper Jared Pickard had an outstanding performance with 15 saves on the night.

Denison had 45 shots, while Oberlin only had 21. The Yeomen record stands at 1-6 overall and 0-3 in conference play. They will take on Keuka College on Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. face-off at home.