ALBION, MI- Taking on one of the top teams in the region, the Oberlin College men's lacrosse team mounted a massive comeback in the fourth quarter to take down Albion. Outscoring the Britons 7-0 in the fourth quarter, Oberlin hung on for the 13-11 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Yeomen move to 5-2 on the season ahead of their conference opener next week.
Jacob Starcke led the Crimson and Gold offense with four goals and four assists. Solomon Brennan also notched four goals, while chipping in one assist. Ryan Blasberg also finished with a multi-goal game, scoring two while long-stick midfielder, Colin Taylor, scored his first career goal.
On the defense, Jake Pillsbury earned the start in cage, amassing 15 saves and four ground balls. David Belisle and Taylor each forced a trio of turnovers, while Belisle brought in four ground balls.
After a quiet start to the game, Oberlin finally got on the board after Sean Obana found Starcke for the Yeomen's first goal. Less than a minute later, Sam Ryu linked up with Christan Tacogue to put Oberlin up 2-0. After holding the Britons off for nearly the entire quarter, Oberlin finally gave way to an Albion goal after a turnover in the midfield.
The Britons picked up where they left off in the second quarter, scoring first at the 13:14 mark. Trevor Flynn found Starcke off the faceoff for a response to the Britons' goal, but Albion continued their strike with two unanswered goals. At the 8:28 mark, Taylor forced a caused turnover on Albion during the clear, then scooped the ball and ran downfield for a pass from Starcke to take a shot on cage. The long pole connected with the back of the net to bring Oberlin back to being equal with Albion. It was all Brits from then out who notched three straight goals to end the half.
Down 7-4 to start the third quarter, Oberlin gave up three more goals before Starcke connected with Brennan to end the drought. At 10-5, Brennan cut the lead to four after Taylor caused a turnover in the midfield for the Yeomen. Oberlin looked to bring the game within three as the minutes dwindled in the third period, but Albion's strong attack was too much for the Yeomen as they extended their lead to 11-6.
Facing a massive uphill battle to get back in the game, the Yeomen stood up to the task and ripped of three-straight goals in the first three minutes. Forcing the Britons to call a timeout, the Crimson and Gold continued their dominance after the break as Blasberg turned a caused turnover into a goal at 11:37. Now within one, Albion won the ensuing faceoff and took a shot right away at cage. Pillsbury made the save and cleared the ball for Starcke to score the equalizer.
It was a Flynn faceoff win that gave the Yeomen the possession they needed, as Brennan drilled one into the back of the net for the Oberlin 12-11 lead. Man-up with 5:48 to go, Jack Duffy scored the Yeomen's seventh goal of the quarter as Oberlin sat with all momentum on their side. Albion had enough time to get back in the game, but after Pillsbury made a pair of clutch saves, the Yeomen hung on for the 13-11 victory.
Fans can watch all the home matches live online. Home contests can be accessed on a TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
