c/o Wesleyan Athletics

For the first time in 13 months, the University’s men’s lacrosse team returned to action last Saturday, opening their season on the road against Hamilton. This season will look different than previous years due to COVID-19, as the Cards are only playing a four-game slate against Hamilton (who they will play twice), Williams, and Trinity. The team with the best record at the end of the four games will win the West Division and will then move on to the NESCAC Championship game and face the winner of the East Division, which is made up of Bates, Colby, Tufts, and Connecticut College.

In addition to the shortened, modified schedule, the Red and Black also have had to adjust their roster, as they are coming into the season without a lot of their sophomore and junior players. The Cards have creatively recruited hockey and football players who played lacrosse in high school to fill out the rest of their roster. Those added to the roster include Michael Kerbrat ’23, a hockey player who will be a defender, and Brett Nelson ’24, a football player who will be the backup goalie.

Men’s Lacrosse Coach John Raba spoke to his excitement about the season.

“We love it,” Rada said in an interview with The Argus. “We’ve seen it all. We’ve been around for most ups and downs. This is definitely a different type of challenge that is really making us think, and it’s exciting.”

Despite missing a good deal of their regular lineup, the Cardinals appeared to not miss a beat on Saturday, defeating Hamilton 13–7. It was the Cards’ tenth straight win in the last ten head-to-head matchups they have played against the Hamilton Continentals.

In the game itself, Hamilton got off to a fast start, taking an early 3–1 lead. Hamilton’s advantage wasn’t long lived, however. The Red and Black responded with a 9–0 run to take a 10–3 lead at the end of the first quarter. The margin never got closer than six goals the rest of the way, as the Cards’ offense started the season with a bang. Leading the scoring charge was Ronan Jacoby ’21, who had four goals and two assists, and Matt Chase ’21 who scored four goals of his own. In addition, the Cards also got offensive contributions from Jake Sexton ’22, Nolan Chow ’23, and Pat Grahling ’21.

The Red and Black were similarly strong on defense, as they forced 20 Hamilton turnovers and goalie Max Powers ’21 made 24 saves. Overall, Jacoby was pleased with the result.

“I think it was a great team win. It was tough as it was our first game in over a year, so at times it was sloppy, but we did what we needed to win the game,” Jacoby said in an interview with The Argus. “We played great team O[ffense], and our D[efense] was stellar. Our goalie, Max Powers, also had a phenomenal day, which gives the team a lot of confidence knowing we can get bailed out.”

Jacoby highlighted his team’s ability to play together and to maintain a healthy pace.

“I think with a short roster it is important to control the tempo of the game,” Jacoby said. “We do not have enough players to push in transition as much as we would like to so we have to make sure our settled O is really sharp. The one nice thing is that because it is a short roster, our chemistry is better as we know each other’s tendencies more. The biggest thing is that we have to stay hungry and play as a team regardless of the situation!”

Next up, the Cardinals open up their home slate with a game against Trinity on Saturday at 3 p.m. Jacoby emphasized the team’s need to clean up sloppiness going forward if they want to continue to be successful.

“I think for us what will be huge is to limit the amount of penalties that we take and work for better quality shots,” Jacoby said. “What is awesome is that they are both really controllable things, and I am confident we will be able to do this weekend. It should be a fun game, and I know our whole team is looking forward to playing them at home on Saturday!”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.