History was made this weekend at Blackstock Stadium when DePauw University's men's lacrosse team picked up the first win for the program with a 14-6 win over Elmhurst College.
"It feels great to be a part of something that's never happened before on campus," said first-year Dan Kantor. "Being able to say you contributed to the first win in a program's history is something only a handful of guys can say and it's something really remarkable."
The Tigers found themselves with a 1-0 lead just four minutes into the game when first-year Robert Lapp found the back of the net. The Blue Jays responded with a goal to tie the game at one at the end of the first quarter.
A solid second quarter put the game away for the Tigers. DePauw quickly jumped in front 4-1 thanks to three goals in the first five minutes of the quarter. This run was highlighted by goals from first-years Adam Bridges and Sam Alkema just 23 seconds apart.
Lapp would go on to score two more goals in the second period to make the score 6-1 in favor of DePauw at halftime.
When play resumed in the second half, Lapp would continue to carry the team on his back. He and Bridges scored both of DePauw's second period goals, and the Tigers led 8-2 with just 15 minutes to play.
Elmhurst finally got their offense going in the fourth quarter as they scored four goals in an attempt to get back in the game. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, the offensive attack left their defense woefully exposed.
DePauw capped off the historic afternoon with six fourth-quarter goals. Lapp would score for the sixth time. Adam Bridges exploded for four goals in the last 15 minutes to make six total goals. Alkema would chip in as well with his second goal of the game.
"This team has a ton of talent and it's only going to go up from here," Lapp said. "We'll have all of our key roles filled for next game and it will be fun to see how we can play when we know how talented we truly are."
DePauw outshot the Blue Jays by 15. Tigers goalie, first-year Tom Kryspin, made eight saves in a winning effort, and Elmhurst keeper, first-year Nick Bonastia, saved 15 shots in the loss.
The Tigers return to action Saturday when they host Hope College at 7 p.m. at Boswell Field.
"This week is a completely new week, and we aren't playing Elmhurst again," Lapp said. "We have to practice even harder than we did last week and have the same mindset going into this next game as we did for this past game."
While the men were making history, DePauw's women's lacrosse team began their season with a solid 14-9 victory over the College of Mount St. Joseph on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions began the game with a goal just 51 seconds into the contest. DePauw would reply with three straight goals to take 3-1 lead with just over 25 minutes to play in the first half.
After Mount St. Joseph's sophomore depauw university womens lacrosse
Erica Walsh trimmed the DePauw lead to one, Tiger junior Jamie Powell answered back with a goal of her own 38 seconds after Walsh's goal.
DePauw busted the game open when they scored three goals over a span of 15 minutes to go up 7-3.
Following a goal by the Lions with less than a minute left on the clock in the first half, DePauw added two more scores to go up 9-4 at halftime.
The Lions would make a comeback in the second half. With about 18 minutes to play, a Mount St. Joseph goal made it 10-8 in favor of the Tigers.
However, DePauw would pull away late. The Tigers scored the final two goals with under 10 minutes to play to win by a final score of 14-9.
The women's game against Benedictine College scheduled for Sunday was cancelled. This means that the Tigers won't play again until Mar. 21 when they travel to Augustana College for a game against the Vikings.