With their second consecutive victory this season, the DePauw men's lacrosse team has started their second season as a varsity program with a solid 2-1 record.
The Tigers kicked off the scoring first with a goal from first-year midfielder Ryan Mauro. This was quickly answered by a goal from Hope College. The Tigers took the lead back with a goal provided by first-year Sam Caravana and from there, the Tigers never relinquished the lead.
With two goals from Mauro and a hat trick from first-year forward Robert Lapp, the Tigers came out and took control of the lead and never let up despite some
"Our strategy in the Hope game was to come out and play hard," Lapp said. "We knew that they liked to scrap and play hard and we had to beat them at their own game. We really managed to do that we got out in transition a lot which is what we like to do and we beat them in the ground ball battle."
Tigers picked up 39 ground balls compared to Hope's 29, so the Tigers stayed true to their strategy and kept the ball out of their opponent's hands. With the win the Tigers head into their next game with a two-game winning streak as Hope drops to 0-2 on the season.
The Tigers held the lead at 4-2 going into half time, then opened the scoring in the second half as well with goals from Lapp and Mauro extending the lead to four. Hope began to pull back into the game with five of their six goals coming in the second half. The game ended 8-6 in favor of the Tigers.
"It seemed like every time we were about to pull away they kept managing to keep it close," Lapp said. "I give a lot of credit to them for hanging around but we just knew we had to take smart shots and posses the ball at the end of the game. We had to stay aggressive and not just try to play keep away but we also had to do that in the smartest way possible. The biggest thing that happened for us when holding them off was when they cut the lead to one."
Despite the comeback, the Tigers held their composure and kept Hope at bay.
"Many of the defensemen have been in big games or championship games and know how to keep their composure," first-year defenseman Charlie Yorke said. "We rely on each other to do our jobs, but we also have a highly skilled and individually talented defense with a big presence on the field."
First-year goaltender Tom Kryspin backed his defense well with 20 saves from 26 shots on goal. Hope outshot DePauw 26 to 17 but Kryspin held strong and kept the Tigers in the game with strong goaltending.
The Tigers are back in action Saturday against Carthage College.