Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's lacrosse team earned ripped off its fourth straight victory, topping the visiting University of Mount Union Purple Raiders, 11-4, in their home opener on a rainy afternoon at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
The Yeomen's stout defense was on display throughout the 60-minute affair, coming away with 23 turnovers while
Eugene Kang denied seven Raiders' shots.
Offensively, first-year Niko Mahres, and seniors
Michael Muldoon and
Tom Decker led the charge for the Yeomen as they each deposited three scores.
Tom Decker added two tallies in the win.
The Raiders scored less than a minute into the contest but the Yeomen would take control from there, closing the quarter with three straight scores. Mahres got Oberlin on the board with the help of a Muldoon feed at the 8:45 mark and would add his second one less than a minute later.
Max Cha, who finished with four points, gave Oberlin a 3-1 lead after 15-minutes of play.
The lone goal of the second quarter came out of the stick of Decker after he sent in a pass from Muldoon, who ended with a time-high five points.
Mount Union trimmed the lead down to one, scoring the first two goals of the third quarter but Mahres and Decker responded with scores for the Yeomen to push the lead back out to 6-3 heading into the final frame. It was Cha who assisted on the Mahres's tally while
Sam Ryu setup Decker.
Oberlin finished off the victory, scoring five times in the fourth quarter to leave no doubt in the outcome. A pair of Muldoon goals extended the cushion out to five, 8-3, and after Mount Union scored its final goal of the day,
Colton Hayes cashed in his first goal of the year. Cha assisted on the final two tallies which were scored by Muldoon and Decker.
The Yeomen finished with a 63-23 advantage in shots and had a slight 28-27 edge in ground balls. Keiran Stone scooped up a team-high six ground balls, while
Maurice Freese added five while going 12-of-19 at the face-off X.
The Yeomen open conference play next Saturday at home against Wittenberg University. The opening face-off is set for 4 p.m.
