DePauw University men's lacrosse lost their first regular season game on Saturday by a score of 7-4 to the Rhodes College Lynx.
The Tigers were held scoreless in the first half, but mounted a bit of a late game comeback with two goals in each of the two final quarters. The Tigers held the Lynx to only three goals in the second half.
A few injuries and sicknesses to key players affected the team's lineup. Season-ending injuries to defender Jake Wosick and midfielder Nick Woerner have depleted the team's depth, and three additional scratches from the Rhodes game included goal scoring threat Robert Lapp and midfielders Ryan Mauro and Benton Givens all due to sickness.
"Without [these players] in the lineup, changes had to be made position wise," said first-year goalie Tom Kryspin. "As a team, players have been able to adapt to these changes of not playing with some teammates while others filled their roles."
After Saturday's victory over the Tigers, Rhodes improved to 3-1 early on this season.
"The first game can indicate a lot for a team and the season ahead," said first-year defenseman A.J. Schlaff. "Despite the unfortunate loss, there was a lot more good to take away than bad."
Most of the statistics seemed fairly even. Rhodes only took four more shots than the Tigers, and DePauw edged Rhodes in faceoffs 8-6. First-year attack man Sam Caravana led the Tigers with two goals, and assists came from Caravana, first-year midfielder Sam Alkema and first-year defenseman Sean Coyne.
The matchup against Rhodes proved to be the Tigers' first real test coming out of preseason. DePauw played in three preseason match-ups, all ending in losses. Through the games, the team has grown as a unit.
"The preseason scrimmages have been very productive in seeing where we are at as a team," Kryspin said. "It was nice to be able to play against someone besides ourselves. We have taken valuable lessons away and are correcting our mistakes so we are ready for the regular season."
Now that the regular season has come, the Tigers have a lot to learn and have time to turn things around.
"We have twenty plus freshman on the team this year," said first-year midfielder Eric Speer. "We can only improve with experience as the year goes on. I feel as though once we get a few games under our belt we can only get better."
The Tigers are back in action against Elmhurst College on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Blackstock Stadium. Conference play does not begin for the Tigers until they travel to Hiram College on March 22.
