WASHINGTON, Pa. - Oberlin College men's lacrosse held off the Washington & Jefferson Presidents in a back-and-forth battle on Wednesday night to secure the fourth win of the year for the Crimson and Gold.
The Presidents captured the game's first goal, but the Yeomen seized the lead and held on despite multiple W&J attempts to overthrow the Oberlin advantage.
After falling behind in the opening minutes, the Yeomen stuck back with two scores from
Eric Hager and a third from
Jay Messina. Hager claimed his third point in the first three goals with an assist on the Messina tally.
The Presidents struck back with two goals to lock the game at 3-3. The two sides exchanged goals with
Kinori Rosnow scoring his sixth of the year to knot the match at 4-4 with 8:23 remaining in the opening half. Deadlocked at 4-4, Rosnow and Messina scored back-to-back Oberlin goals to grab a 6-4 lead.
The Presidents stopped the Oberlin run, but Hager tallied his hat-trick goal before the halftime break to push the scoreline to 7-5 in Oberlin's favor.
Hager, Messina and Rosnow struck again to open the second half and earn the Yeomen a 10-6 advantage. First-year
Regan Chasney cashed in on his tenth goal of the year to cap the four-goal Oberlin run. A Washington & Jefferson response was followed by a
John Sutherland score to capture a 12-7 lead for the Yeomen.
The Presidents seemed to be mounting a comeback, but a
Steve Kelleher goal shut down any would be attempt to overturn the Oberlin lead.
Washington & Jefferson secured a final goal, but Sutherland doubled up before the end of regulation to close proceedings from the Keystone State in the midweek matchup.
Hager's team-best four goals in the win moves his season-total to 10 as the Montclair, New Jersey, native finished as the game's top point-getter with six. Messina and Rosnow both registered three goals in the non-conference victory, but Messina edged Rosnow on points with an assist on the first Sutherland score.
Rosnow was once more a force on the face-off taking 21-of-28 from a pair of Presidents. The Kirkland, Washington, native finished with a game-high 11 ground balls and two caused turnovers.
In net, first-year
Calvin Filson tallied 10 saves to earn his fourth victory of the year while recording his fifth double-digit save effort of the campaign.
Oberlin College men's lacrosse returns to competition on Saturday, April 1 when the Fighting Scots of the College of Wooster invade Bailey Field and the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex. The opening face-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
