The men’s lacrosse team downed Carthage College by a score of 13 to 8 last Sunday, recording an important win as they vie for one of four pool B berths needed to get a spot in the NCAA tournament. If the Tigers are successful, this will be their fourth consecutive year making it to the NCAA tournament. The Tigers were on fire on offense. CC outshot the Red Men 58 to 24.
Junior attackman Austin Davie struck six times in the game, and added an assist to finish with a career-high seven points. Freshmen midfielders Tom Haller and Tyler Borko added two tallies each in this crucial game for CC’s playoff aspirations.
“This was a very important win in regards to our post season. Carthage was a tournament team last year and this win will help us tremendously,” said Head Coach Sean Woods.
Though Carthage was first on the board, CC came back quickly. Davie got the scoring started for the Tigers early in the first period. Haller added another tally a minute after Davie’s with help from senior midfielder Eric Neumeyer. Then Neumeyer netted one more to close out the first period with help from freshman midfielder Drew Wiseman. The score remained within one or tied the entire first period.
Davie tacked on two more goals during the second period, tying the game up again 5-5. Carthage fought back with a goal but Borko scored the final goal of the period to once again tie the game. Carthage junior goaltender Ryan Smith was strong during the first two frames, making 9 of 11 stops.
“Against Carthage, I think the key was just knowing and believing we were better than them,” said Davie. “We started slow but there comes a time in games where the team just has to rally and remember that we are better.”
CC did exactly that, opening the third period by dropping three unanswered goals on the Red Men, one from Neumeyer and two from Davie. Borko and Haller both added insurance tallies to put the Tigers up 11 to 7 to finish the third period. In the fourth period, sophomore attackman Robert Stern and Davie both notched unassisted goals to close out the game and bring the Tigers’ total to 13 goals.
“That win was huge for us, especially because of our other losses,” Davie said. “Taking down Carthage and Whittier in a couple weeks are some of our biggest games because they greatly affect our chances of getting into the NCAA tournament.”
Despite injuries and other setbacks among the older members of the team, the Tigers have continued to play strong due to the effort of the younger talents on the squad. Five of CC’s 13 goals came from underclassmen.
“We need our young players to step up,” said Woods, “but with our leadership I am confident that will happen,” he added. “It’s not how old we are, it’s how tough we are.”
Freshman midfielder Parker Woo captured 18 of 23 faceoffs and finished with a team-high seven ground balls.
Relying on younger players over the past few weeks has thrust some members of the team into roles they may not have been expecting at the start of the season.
“I think the team is in a great spot right now,” Davie said. “Some things need to be smoothed out, for sure, but this team has a lot of potential. And, since we are so young, it’s great looking into the future as well.”
Winning pool B and making it into the tournament has been no problem for CC in the past. The real challenge now for the team is making some noise when they get there.
“If we really want to make a good playoff run, we cannot come out of the gates slow,” Davie said. “We have to come out and believe that we can win, no matter who we are playing. That is our greatest challenge this year.”
The Tigers return to action next Friday, April 15, at the University of Dallas.