The DePauw men’s lacrosse team traveled to Mount Vernon, Iowa last weekend to face a competitive Cornell College team.
Although the Tigers had to fight back from an early 3-1 deficit, they were able to seal a 12-9 victory over the Rams.
With it being Cornell’s season opener, the Tigers took advantage of the fact that they had two previous matches under their belt.
“It was a tremendous job by the team," said Head Coach Carl Haas. "We were excellent in several areas…and our overall attitude as a team was so positive."
After trailing 3-1 in the first quarter, the team was able to lift themselves to 4-3 entering the second.
The Tigers kept the points coming, earning another two in the first five minutes of the second quarter.
With the attacks’ morale running high, it looked as though the goals served as the spark that they had been looking for.
“We had been pushing them for the last two weeks to step up and shoulder more of the offensive load,” Haas said. “They answered in convincing fashion.”
The Tigers were not ready to give up their lead, but the Rams were moving in close. With 1:38 remaining in the third quarter, Cornell’s Galbraith Williams converted a goal to bring the game within one point at 9-8.
With just 45 seconds remaining in the period, sophomore midfielder Ben Sherman countered, pushing the margin of lead to two points.
First-year attack Matt Dauw came into the fourth quarter hot. Within the opening minutes of the period, he was able to net one of his three goals of the game.
Cornell was able to counter with a point of their own with 11 minutes remaining in the game, but first-year attack Steen Jorgensen secured the Tigers’ victory with a final goal in the last 56 seconds of play.
“It’s always fun winning, especially on the road,” said junior defender Joe Ross.
Haas said he saw excellence coming from many areas of play, citing face-offs, tough mentality, and keeping their intensity high throughout the entire match as examples. However, he said the biggest contributing factor to the win was the attack’s performance.
“For the second straight year we have all newcomers on attack, but they did a great job,” Haas said.
Dauw earned himself NCAC Player of the Week with his three goals and two assists.
“[He] had an incredible game,” Haas said. “He rode hard, was constantly hustling after ground balls and had five points.”
First-year midfielder Steen Jorgensen commended Dauw’s ability to provide the team with consistency from start to finish. But Dauw attributed his effort to the team as a whole--not just himself.
“We all played really hard, and that’s truly why we won," he said.
First-year attack Buck Dorger contributed to the effort as well, with three goals of his own.
On the defensive side, sophomore goalkeeper Joe Musto recorded a total of 10 saves.
With this victory, the Tigers now move to 2-1 on the season.
The team will resume play on Saturday versus Calvin College. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.