The Elizabethtown College men’s lacrosse team (1-3) was matched against Swarthmore College (3-1) on March 4. The game began with junior mid-fielder Connor Stewart scoring promptly for Etown post-face-off, creating an exciting start for the Blue Jays. Swarthmore quickly responded with a goal, proving that they were not to be taken lightly.
By the end of the first quarter, Swarthmore was ahead by one goal, leaving the score at (4-3). Graduate student mid-fielder Alex Kilgour scored the 3 goals to keep Etown in a close race. His second goal was assisted by senior mid-fielder Colin Cummings within the last 59 seconds of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Blue Jays were still one goal behind the Garnets. Junior attackman Colin Kondracki scored 2 in a row, allowing Etown to stay consistent with their opponent. Prior to halftime, graduate student attackman Ben O’Connor upped the tally by clocking in another shot past Swarthmore’s goalie. Once the buzzer sounded marking the end of the first half, Swarthmore still took the lead at (7-6).
After halftime, the Garnets dominated the field, refusing to let the Blue Jays score in the third quarter. As their defense took charge, Swarthmore’s offense scored 3 more goals against Etown. By the end of this quarter, Swarthmore was ahead (10-6), leaving Blue Jays fans unsettled.
The final 15 minutes of the game resulted in a similar outcome to the previous quarter. Kilgour ripped the last point-winning shot past the Garnets’ goalie, assisted by senior attackman Riley Langen.
Overall, this was a disappointing loss for Elizabethtown College’s men’s lacrosse team. The statistics prove the difficulty of this match-up, such as Etown attempting 26 shots compared to Swarthmore’s 42 or Etown’s 18 awarded ground balls to Swarthmore’s 35.
Luckily, after wrapping up their 3-game losing streak, Etown men’s lacrosse won against 16th-ranked Franklin & Marshall College on March 8. The game resulted in overtime play with senior goalie Brayden Franey remaining strong in the net with 11 saves. It was an important night specifically for Kilgour as he matched his career-high of 6 goals in 1 game; this also resulted in Kilgour being tied for fifth in the all-time single-game list.
This triumph over Franklin & Marshall College was the boost that the Etown needed—not only did they secure the win, but defeating this team was the first in their program history. The following game for the Etown men’s lacrosse team was on Sat., March 11 against St. Mary’s.
