On April 25, Wittenberg’s men’s lacrosse team traveled to DePauw for an entertaining, high-scoring game. DePauw entered the game with a 5-8 overall record, an NCAC conference record of 1-5 (seventh overall in the conference), and a 6-10 loss to Kenyon College in the previous game. A late-season win over Wittenberg would certainly give the Tigers enough momentum heading into next season, with only one regular-season game remaining against Denison, who arrived in Greencastle with a 1-14 overall record, 0-7 in conference and a 10-game losing streak, previously losing to Albion 15-8.
In the first quarter, Kam Shivers ‘29, assisted by Noah Sulpizio ‘28, opened the scoring at 13:58, making the game 1-0. Shivers added another unassisted goal in the first quarter at 8:39to make the game 2-0. Wittenberg’s defense was unable to keep up with DePauw’s offense, though they were able to put something up on the board when Quinten Rudolph ‘26 scored unassisted at 2:24 to make the game 2-1. To end the quarter, Oscor Kokke ‘28, assisted by Sulpizio, scored at 1:14 to make the game 3-1.
In the second quarter, DePauw’s offense came into an explosive fruition, with seven goals being recorded from each of the starters and little pushback from the defense. Shiver’s offensive capabilities began to heat up, scoring goals at 6:03 and 1:49. Other goals came from Kokke who scored his second goal of the evening at 13:38, followed by Alex Sharma ‘28, assisted by Jack Neff ‘27 at 10:27. Gavin Berry ‘27, assisted by Sharma, scored his first goal of the night for a quick stick finish at 9:22. Wittenberg’s Trip Salowich would end DePauw’s hot streak, scoring at 8:37 unassisted to make the score 6-2. Sulpizio would retaliate with his first goal of the game, coming at 6:03, unassisted. Following a goal 6:03 from Shiver and another from Neff at 5:18, Shiver would score another unassisted goal at 1:49, making the score at the end of the second quarter 10-2.
In the third quarter, Kokke and Sharma each scored goals relatively early into the second half at 13:30 and 12:41, respectively. Wittenberg had a late resurgence in the third quarter, scoring four back-to-back goals from Ty Harris ‘26 at 10:14, Travis Demsher ‘26 at 6:56, Clay Habben ‘28 at 2:07, and Travis Demsher ‘26 at 00:19 to make the score more respectable 12-6.
Wittenberg’s hot streak came to an end in the fourth quarter, when DePauw scored four more consecutive goals, Shiver scoring three more and Berry scoring another. By 10:40, it was clear that Shiver had something going for him in the game, making up seven of DePauw’s 16 goals. Shiver’s hot stick had not yet faded. After Wittenberg’s Colten Simkins ‘26 scored at 10:31 unassisted, Shiver would respond right away at 9:12 with another goal. After Wittenberg’s Harris and Salowich each scored goals at 7:13, 3:13 and 2:33. After DePauw’s Neff scored at 5:42, Shiver would top the game off with one final goal at 1:18, making the final score 10:19.
The clear MVP of the game was Shiver, breaking the school record with nine goals in a single game, surpassing Connor Gibson’s ‘24 record of eight. The Tigers played their final home game against Denison on April 25 in Granville, Ohio.
