Oberlin, Ohio – The 15^th ranked Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops handed the Oberlin College men's lacrosse team its first loss of the season as they defeated the Yeomen 21-8 on Saturday afternoon at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
 
Freshman Tom Decker and senior Ian McCague accounted for half of the Oberlin goals as they each found the back of the net twice in the setback. The loss dropped the Yeomen to 5-1 overall and 0-1 in the NCAC. OWU moved to 6-2 and 1-0 in league action.
 
Oberlin netted the game's first goal as senior Steve Kelleher finished off an assist from McCague at the 12:51 mark of the first quarter. The Bishops would respond with four straight scores before McCague halted their run with a goal at the 3:59 mark. However, the Bishops would score twice more before the end of the frame to take 6-2 lead.
 
Reese Koburov deposited the first goal of the second quarter, but a 5-0 OWU response would balloon the lead out to 11-3. McCague's second goal of the game came at the 1:55 mark, but the Bishops' Jack Jeschke would beat the halftime horn to make it a 12-4 lead for the Bishops at the intermission.
 
The Bishops would outscore the Yeomen 7-3 in the third quarter to leave no doubt in the eventual outcome. Oberlin's John Pierce found the back of the net with 3:33 left on the clock before Decker ended the session with back-to-back goals to run his season total to 11.
 
The Bishops played keep-away for much of the fourth quarter as they tacked on just two more goals. Oberlin's Jay Messina also sent in his 10^th goal of the season in the period.
 
Calvin Filson made 12 saves for the Yeomen as he now has 48 stops on the year.
 
OWU finished with a 50-23 advantage in shots and had a 33-22 edge in ground balls. The Bishops also won 17 of the game's 29 face-offs. Max Scott and Max McAllister matched Filson with a team-high three ground balls.
 
Oberlin is back in action on Tuesday night at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. The opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.