The Elizabethtown College men’s lacrosse team started its 2015 season in the most picture perfect way, knocking off top 25 opponent, Dickinson College. Eight different Blue Jays scored Wednesday, Feb. 18, in the team’s 8-6 victory on Wolf Field. In the last four seasons, Dickinson earned a pair of conference titles, an NCAA quarterfinal appearance, as well as an impressive 18-1 record last year.
Sophomore and captain Joe Clark was last year’s Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year. He started the scoring for the Blue Jays with an unassisted goal. Soon after, sophomore Jason Clough, junior Jimmy Waters and sophomore Cody Larkin scored goals that helped build a 4-2 lead going into the half. However, Dickinson did not back down, as they tied the game back up at four after Tyler Llewellyn scored at 4:56 into the third.
It was not long after that the Blue Jays went on a 3-0 run, giving them a 7-4 lead. Sophomore twin brothers, Mike and Nick Specht led the run. They had a hand in all three goals scored. N. Specht finished the third quarter with a goal at 6:50, while M. Specht opened up the fourth quarter with a goal of his own at 12:56. He later set up senior Russ LeClair to score five minutes later. “[This game] shows that we can compete with any team in the nation,” Mike Specht said. “We are excited to get back out there and compete again. It feels awesome to be back playing again. We are feeling really good about this season and cannot wait to show everybody what we are made of.” He was very pleased to be out playing the game he loves with his teammates.
Dickinson did not give up, as they fired back. Rob Kendall made it a two goal game with 4:13 remaining. Just 14 seconds later, Chris Menard scored his third goal of the day, bringing the Red Devils within just one goal. Etown’s first-year Kevin Meakim gave the Blue Jays some needed insurance with his first ever career goal, making the game 8-6.
The Blue Jays’ defense, came up big. Junior captain and defensemen Jake Snyder forced two turnovers with senior Matt Frey. Senior goalkeeper Chris Wenger played a huge role in the second half. He saved four shots in the fourth quarter.
The result on Sunday, Feb. 22, however, was not the same. The Blue Jays fell in double overtime, 10-9, to SUNY Oneonta, despite an impressive scoring burst from Clark. He tallied six of the nine points for the Blue Jays.
Senior Connor Rowe started the scoring with his first goal of the season at the 14:35 mark of the first quarter. Rowe’s goal was followed by goals from Clark and LeClair, giving the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, it was all Oneonta. Charles Montgomery, Dan King and Robert Neubert scored for the opponent. Clough found Clark late in the second quarter to bring the Blue Jays within one goal just before the half.
At the 8:35 and 5:56 marks in the third quarter, it was junior Jordan Bowser and Meakim, who each recorded an assist to Clark, giving the Blue Jays a 6-5 lead. N. Specht recorded his second goal of the season. Then, Clark scored two goals off assists from Waters and Snyder that helped give the Blue Jays a 9-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, Oneonta made their last push to tie the game. With under six minutes to go, Oneonta scored three goals to push the game into overtime.
Alec Solomito found Hunter DeLuca to put Oneonta over the Blue Jays, 10-9. It was tough loss for Etown, but the team remains optimistic. “Losing always hurts but we can learn that we need to play a full 60 minutes in order to be successful,” Waters said. “The upside to a loss like this is that it was not a loss based on talent. If we improve our attitude and effort we will take these close games in the near future.”
Despite the loss in overtime, Wenger contributed 13 saves to keep the Blue Jays in the game.
After splitting the first two games of the season, the Blue Jays are looking to increase their record to 2-1 when they hit the road to take on the Messiah College Falcons in Grantham, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.
