Oberlin, Ohio – Opening their conference home season with a crushing victory over 20th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan, the Oberlin College men's lacrosse team broke a myriad of team and individual record on Saturday afternoon.
 
The 16-7 win marks the Yeomen's first victory over the Battling Bishops since Oberlin beat them 13-6 on April 26, 1970. With OWU ranked 20th in the nation, this is also the Yeomen's first win over a ranked opponent in program history.
 
"It was a great team win today." Head Coach Ryan Polak said, "We played a full four quarters and never let up. It's also a really big win for the program and all the alumni that have ever put on an Oberlin jersey. While we want to enjoy the win, it's important for us to stay humble and turn our attention to our next opponent."
 
With a career-high five goals in the game, Solomon Brennan led the team with another two assists to tally seven points. Junior Asher Friedman had a breakout game as well, marking seven points on three goals and four assists, all career-highs. Rounding out the remarkable performances on offense, Jacob Starcke recorded his 200th career-point on his first goal of the game.
 
The Crimson and Gold defense also showed up to play, anchored by rookie Nolan Grieshaber who made a career-best 14 saves in the win. With six caused turnovers, Cooper Rand's all-time performance puts his tied for fourth all-time for caused turnovers in a single game. This marks the most CTOs since Max Scott '20 in 2019.
 
Nicholas Cuda was the first to strike for the Yeomen, scoring on a pass from Friedman to put Oberlin on the board, 1-0. Ohio Wesleyan responded, but Oberlin rattled off a 4-1 run to close the quarter and grab a confident 6-2 lead.
 
Cooper Zancosky's goal at 13:47 to start the second frame continued the run for the yeomen, only disrupted after the Battling Bishops forced a shot-clock violation on the home offense. Scoring on the next possession, OWU continued to stay just within reach of the Crimson and Gold. On another run, Oberlin tacked on three more unanswered goals to head into the halftime break up 10-4.
 
Outscoring OWU 5-2 in the third quarter, Oberlin began with back-to-back goals in the first four minutes. Friedman scored first, followed by Brennan on a pass from Ryan Murphy. After the Battling Bishops cuts the lead to 12-6, Friedman connected with Starcke after a David Belisle CTO to keep Oberlin aggressive.
 
Scoring two before the end of the third, the Yeomen scored again to start the fourth and grab a ten-goal lead over the top-20 Battling Bishops. Andrew Rosa's consistency on attack pushed the Obies to the double-digit lead and certified their victory.
 
Associate Head Coach Thomas Klosowski said of the win, "It was a great four quarters of execution that furthers the team's belief in our abilities. Our focus will continue to be on our controllable's as we continue in conference play."
 
"The feeling is definitely something that we as a team cherish and are ecstatic about, but at the end of the day it's just another game." Colin Taylor says of the national victory. "We have to keep looking forward and continue this momentum into the rest of the year."
 
Oberlin will do just that when they take on their next NCAC opponent, John Carroll, later this week. The road matchup is set for Wednesday, April 1, with the game scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
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