After last Saturday’s 19-6 victory over Shenandoah College, the Oberlin men’s lacrosse team felt that it was necessary to finish off their opponents with style and lots of goals. That’s exactly what they did in Wednesday’s match against Seton Hill University, crushing the Griffins 19-5. Head Coach Walz wasn’t kidding last week when he said “we should have some winnable games ahead of us.”

In the first three minutes into the match, Oberlin came out stoked and fired up as juniors Ben Purdon and Ian Dias and senior Will Jaffee quickly scored a goal each. The Griffins got on the board shortly after that with a goal from first-year midfielder Chris Horigan.

It was not long after that when Oberlin put on a show by pouring on the goals. With 6:23 remaining in the first quarter, junior attackman Bryan Harfenist scored with his back facing the goal, swinging his stick over his shoulder. The Yeomen went up 5-1 with five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

With 4:25 remaining until the second quarter, Harfenist struck again. First-year midfielder Jesse Kane got in the action as he shifted from side to side, drilling a goal and putting the Yeomen up 7-1.

“I believe that the team played well. In all three seasons at Oberlin, I don’t recall any 19-point wins,” said Harfenist. “For me, Saturday is the most important game our team has faced in three years. The season has seen its fun, but this next game is what can truly make it.”

The pounding didn’t stop there, as Oberlin turned up the heat in the second quarter. With 7:52 remaining until the half, senior midfielder Andrew Crosby weaved in and out, making his defender fall, while also scoring, expanding Oberlin’s lead to 8-1.

With 6:08 remaining until halftime, Dias scored with what looked like a set-up play. Jaffee was behind the net, while Dias attacked the net, passing it to Jaffee, who immediately passed it back to Dias for the score — the give-and-go version of lacrosse.

As if that wasn’t enough, Harfenist and Schlussman each scored goals, following junior defender Max Braun’s exploding hit on Ben Petchel of the Griffins, knocking the ball out of his net stick. With ten seconds remaining until half, Chris Horigan of Seton Hill scored his second goal of the day.

“I’m real stoked about the way the team’s been playing,” said senior David Schlussman. “Our defense has been tough all season and our offense is finally starting to click. I’m especially proud of our midfielder’s performance, they’ve been really pushing the fast breaks and playing tough in between the lines.”

Oberlin’s strong team effort has been the reason for their success. Harfenist led the squad with four goals and three assists. Jaffee and Dias each had four goals, while Schlussman added three and goalie Jared Pickard snagged 16 saves. Oberlin led with a 65-57 ground ball advantage, and an 18-9 in extra man opportunities.

In the second half, the Yeomen put the Griffins away for good. Kane bobbed and weaved up and down the field all game making Seton Hill’s defenders look inept. Oberlin controlled the ball possession throughout the entire match, which gave them many opportunities to score.

“We’re out-running teams and on the offensive end we’re stringing together three, four, five quick passes that led to doorstep goals,” said Jaffee. “Our shooting has finally fallen in place, especially the last two games, and we’re psyched out of our minds for Saturday against Wittenberg, a good but beatable team.”

The Yeomen slap sticks against conference rival Wittenberg College at home at 2 p.m. “I am so proud with how we played today,” said Walz. “We have three tough games to go, so we need to come out just as hard.”