Men's Lacrosse Upends Tigers

By KEVIN BOILARD

The University of Mary Washington’s men’s lacrosse team played like a team on a mission last Saturday as they took down Hampden-Sydney College in a home match.

The team’s mission was to knock off the HSC Tigers, which is something they’ve failed to do the past two seasons, and improve their record to 2-0. Early in the game, it became apparent that the team’s goal would not be denied.

Junior midfielder Sean Dacey was the first to find the back of the net. Sophomore attackman Luke Dick followed shortly thereafter by adding a goal of his own, but the opening quarter would ultimately end in a 2-2 draw as the Tigers were able to mount two late goals to tie the score.

The Eagles once again came out strong to start the second quarter and UMW dominated the frame. Junior attackman Paul Tunick sparked a four-goal scoring run for the Eagles with his first goal of the game 3:51 left in the half.

“I took the ball behind the net and went to my strong hand,” Tunick said about his goal, “I did an inside roll on my defender and the move worked. I didn’t even have to think about it. It just felt natural.”

Senior defenseman John Tobin, who played a huge part in the team’s defensive efforts, took the ball down the field on the ensuing face off and scored, making the score 4-2. Senior attackman Harry Snyder scored on a rebound shortly after Tobin’s goal, increasing the Eagles lead to three.

The scoring run was capped off by an incredible play in which Tunick fed Dacey across the field and gave him a wide open look from nearly 20 yards out. Dacey fired a rocket of a shot, inches away from the goalie’s left hip and just inside the left pipe. The Eagles went into halftime with a 6-2 lead and all the momentum.

“I think we played harder,” head coach Kurt Glaeser said after the game, “We looked like we just wanted it more.”

One of those players who looked like he wanted nothing more than to win was senior goalie Matt Prin.

The Eagles defense, anchored by Prin, held HSC scoreless for the entire second and third quarter. Prin had a strong game, racking up 19 saves, but also reaped the benefits of having a stingy defense in front of him.

“Matt Prin played very well,” Glaeser said, “and John Tobin played shut down defense all day as well. [Hampden-Sydney] had four preseason All-Americans and our defense shut most of them down. We have a relatively young offensive team and, at times, our defensive play carries us.”

The offense did go into a scoring lull in the third quarter. The only goal came from an extra man opportunity in which sophomore attackman John Bohlinger found fellow sophomore attackman Pete McDermott for a look on the crease.

With the offense struggling, HSC crept back into the game by scoring two quick goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter making the score 7-4.

The Eagles quickly stifled any talk of a comeback with another goal by Dick, but the game was not put completely out of reach until Dacey scored his third goal of the game with 2:47 left to play, making the score 10-5.

After two garbage time goals for HSC, time expired and the Eagles celebrated a 10-7 victory and a 2-0 start to the season.

“I was really pumped up for this game. We were all riled up,” Prin said after the game, “We needed to make a statement today and we did.”

The Eagles (2-0) christened the Battlegrounds’ new turf field with a win last Saturday, and now they prepare to travel to Westminster, MD. this Saturday to take on the McDaniel Green Terror (1-0).