Greenville, PA – The Oberlin College men's lacrosse team pulled away in the second half en route to earning a 15-6 season-opening victory at Thiel College on Saturday afternoon.
 
Oberlin used a diverse scoring attack as 10 Yeomen found the back of the net in the victory. Sophomore Griffin Cappelletti led all point producers with three goals and three assists, while Tom Decker, Thomas Berle Carman, and freshman Michael Muldoon each scored two times.
 
It was nip and tuck throughout the early going as the Yeomen carried just a 3-2 lead into the second quarter. Sophomore Joey Edell opened up the game's scoring just over two minutes in and Decker would later follow with the other two goals of the frame.
 
The early portion of the second quarter featured four consecutive Oberlin goals as the lead increased to 7-2 with 8:48 left to play in the half. The 4-0 spurt started with Muldoon's first-career goal and was capped by Cappelletti's first of the game. In between was a pair of unassisted rips from Berle Carman that got past Tomcats' goalie Cole O'Connor.
 
After the Tomcats posted the final two tallies of the second quarter, the Yeomen carried a 7-4 lead into the intermission. However, Oberlin reclaimed control of the game, opening up the third period with three consecutive man-up goals. Cappelletti was on the giving end of the first two, setting up Muldoon and Regan Chasney, before depositing one of his own off a feed from Berle Carman.
 
Will Prangley and Cappelletti would follow with goals to make it 12-4. After JJ Raab temporarily halted the Yeomen barrage, sophomore Matthew Barry and rookie defensemen JT Starcke would tack on two more scores to cap off a 7-1 quarter and leave no doubt in the eventual outcome. The final Yeomen tally of the game would come with 24 ticks left to play in the fourth quarter when freshman Alex Dovichi opened up his collegiate scoring account.
 
Sophomore Max McAllister led the Yeomen with six ground balls and won 10-of-18 battles at the face-off X. Max Scott also aided the possession effort with five ground balls. As a team the Yeomen won the ground ball battle 42-30.
 
Junior Calvin Filson made 10 saves, six of which came in the second half as Thiel netted just two goals over the final 30 minutes of play.
 
Oberlin (1-0) had a 55-30 advantage in shots, including a 35-16 margin in shots on goal. The Yeomen also forced the Tomcats into 38 turnovers and held them to 20 clears on 33 tries. On the contrary, the Yeomen were successful flipping the field 23 times on 25 attempts. Oberlin finished 3-of-4 on man-up opportunities and fended off all four of the Tomcats' (1-1) extra-man chances.
 
The Yeomen are back in action next Saturday when they travel to Olivet College for a 1 p.m. clash.