LEANN BURKE / THE DEPAUW
Losing is something DePauw’s men’s lacrosse team has had to get used to in its first two years of existence. While it’s never easy taking a loss, the Tigers suffered an especially difficult defeat on Tuesday night.
Late in the game on the road at Illinois Wesleyan University, with the score tied at 11, the Tigers turned the ball over and allowed the Titans’ Tim Smith to score the game-winning goal with just one second left on the clock.
“At the most inopportune time, we had another failed clear where we turned it over in the middle of the field,” head coach Carl Haas said. “We went to double and he split the double team and was able to put it past the goalie.”
To even get to the point where the Tigers had a chance to win, seemed unlikely early on. DePauw fell behind 3-0 early in the game but was able to battle back and tie the score.
Much of the game felt like a back and forth contest with the Titans answering back every time the Tigers made the game close.
The Tigers battled back to tie the score at six at halftime but once again saw Illinois Wesleyan retake the lead. DePauw allowed three goals in the third quarter but answered each of the them with goals from sophomores Sam Alkema, Benton Givens and Ryan Mauro. The two teams headed into the final period tied at nine.
The fourth quarter proved to be a back and forth battle once again. Illinois Wesleyan struck first but DePauw tied things up on a goal from Alkema. After the Titans took the lead once again at 11-10, it was first-year Kyle Roberts who gave the Tigers an equalizer.
“The game was extremely difficult to swallow,” Roberts said. “We were able to come back from an early deficit to keep the game close and it was tied the whole second half but we were never able to take the lead.”
It was there where things went wrong, as Tim Smith got loose and found the back of the net to give Illinois Wesleyan the win at the last second.
The loss comes after the Tigers have lost several key players after they decided to quit the team. DePauw is doing their best to put that behind that and move forward.
“Playing fast and playing for each other, that’s what the guys that are remaining are doing,” DePauw assistant coach Keith Long said.
There are positives that the team can take away from this start to the season. After winning the season opener against Rhodes College, the Tigers were able to keep things close against Illinois Wesleyan.
“Some of the positives we can take away from the first two games is that we are giving it our all and going 100 percent,” Roberts said. “We've also shown ourselves we can stay with teams. Lastly, we have been winning the ground ball battles, which our team has put a big emphasis on this season.”
Next up for the Tigers are the Denison University Big Red, the defending North Coast Athletic Conference champions. The two teams will meet at Reavis Stadium at 3 p.m. on Sunday in DePauw’s home-opener.