XCzOBERLIN, OH- Hosting a nationally recognized team in the Denison Big Red, the Oberlin College men's lacrosse team hung with the heavy hitters before fall 16-9 on Wednesday night. The slip moves the Crimson and Gold to 2-4 in conference action and 8-6 overall.
 
Offensively, Ryan Blasberg notched his fifth hat trick of the season, with a team-best three goals. Jack Duffy and Solomon Brennan carried their fair share, with two goals each, while Duffy added an assist in the evening. Colin Taylor and Christian Tacogue rounded out the scoring for the Yeomen with a goal each.
 
On the defensive end of the field, Taylor paced the way with five ground balls and a career-best four caused turnovers. Jake Fields, Alexander L'Hommedieu, and Jonas Taylor-Lillquist each added another two caused turnovers, while the trio combined for nine ground balls. Ten other Yeomen scooped at least one ground ball in the contest.
 
Winning the battle at the circle, Trevor Flynn went 16-27 against the Big Red face-off duo, collecting nine ground balls in his wake. Joe Barocas earned the start in cage, collecting a season-high 14 saves and two ground balls.
 
Duffy found Tacogue to put Oberlin on the board first, after using nearly all of an extra-man opportunity. The Big Red responded with two goals right away, but Yeomen long-pole, Taylor cleared the ball downfield before putting a shot into the back of the net.
 
After giving up a 2-1 run that trailed into the second period, Blasberg ripped off a shot at the 7:21 mark that connected with net to pull the Yeomen back within one. The senior struck gold again midway through the third period, when he capitalized off a Denison turnover. Down 7-5, Brennan made it a one-goal game just minutes later after Taylor forced another turnover on the Big Red.
 
The Denison offense picked up steam and added four unanswered goals over the next four minutes, only cooled off by a Duffy goal to cap the third period. Needing four goals to climb back to even, the Crimson and Gold found two right away with 10:25 remaining. The young Yeomen struggled to utilize the momentum they'd built in the opening minutes of the fourth, ultimately giving the last five goals to the Big Red behind just as many turnovers. After a strong showing in the first half, the Yeomen succumbed 16-9 to the NCAC powerhouse.
 
The Yeomen stay home to celebrate their six seniors in their next match on Saturday, April 20. Oberlin hosts Wabash for a 1 p.m. start.
 
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.