The Elizabethtown College men’s lacrosse team defeated the non-conference Misericordia University Cougars on Saturday afternoon at Wolf Field with a score of 6-2. The Blue Jays’ defense forced a season-high 17 turnovers and sophomore goalie Chris Wenger stopped an astounding 13 shots on goal, allowing Etown to pull away in the fourth quarter.
First year midfielder Tucker Keefer started the scoring sequence at 13:48 in the first quarter and senior captain Cory Boushell finished a pass from Keefer at the 8:36 mark to give the Jays a 2-1 lead after one quarter. Both teams went 15 minutes without a goal in the second quarter until Misericordia’s Adam Lenhard forced a turnover in Blue Jay territory and scored an unassisted goal, tying the game with 2:22 left in the third quarter.
Junior transfer Craig Hunsberger refused to allow the momentum to shift following Lenhard’s goal. Hunsberger won the face-off, taking the ball directly down the field and scoring on Cougar goalie Josh Shanker ten seconds later. “Hunsberger is having a very good year and is a major contributor offensively,” Boushell said. “He is our first face-off guy which is huge for us.”
Neither team could seem to get their offense functioning until Etown managed to score three goals in the fourth quarter. First-year attacker Jordan Bowser ripped a shot with 9:25 left in the game, scoring the second of those three consecutive goals. Bowser’s goal gave the Blue Jays a 5-2 lead, seeming to extinguish all hope for the Cougars. The task only grew tougher for Misericordia with a closing goal from the Jays’ first-year attacker Steve Nutting, who finalized the score at 6-2.
Misericordia struggled with Etown’s lockdown defense, scoring only one goal each half and remaining scoreless in the second and the fourth quarter. Many of the Cougar’s turnovers can be linked to the Jays’ defensive squad led by first year Jake Snyder, sophomore Matt Frey and senior captain Kyle Lord. Snyder caused five turnovers while Frey obtained four and Lord recorded three. “Forcing turnovers and getting the ball is what Matt Frey is known for on the team,” Nutting said. “As a sophomore, he really has a great future on this team.” Frey and Hunsberger led the way for Etown with eight ground balls each, which held a 53-40 advantage for the game.
Etown struggled during the game with 26 turnovers, including 10 that were self-produced. Even with this obstacle in place, the turnover count turned out to be less problematic than expected and the Jays managed to collect six goals, proving to be more than enough.
Wenger resisted the Cougars with three saves in each of the first three quarters and four saves in the final quarter. Wenger increased his saves per game average with 13 more during the game, classifying him as one of the conference’s top goalies in this statistics category. As a midfielder, Boushell is confident in the strength of the team’s defense. “I feel like we can definitely rely on our defense all of the time,” Boushell said. “We, as a team, gain confidence from goals scored and also from big hits or defensive plays.”
Hunsberger and sophomore midfielder David Latimore took part in a paramount performance securing a new school record during Saturday’s game. Hunsberger won all seven face-offs and Latimore won all four of his faceoffs for the Jays, who shut out Misericordia at the dot 11-0. Etown had never won every face-off in a game since the birth of the program in 2002.
The Jays outshot the Cougars 44-24 and were a stunning 25-of-28 on clearing attempts, remaining perfect in the second quarter (five of five) and again in the fourth quarter (seven of seven). The Jays were 1-for-4 in extra man opportunities and the Cougars were held scoreless on seven tries in a game that featured five penalties.
The next opponent for the Jays was Union College. There will be a strict focus on stopping Union’s midfielders and attackers, but with strong performances by the Jays’ defense, Etown’s play should speak for itself if they limit their turnovers and continue to clear the ball well. Monday’s practice will be a lighter one where the team will go over their offensive and defensive sets as well as work on their clears.
“At this point in the season we still need to focus on ourselves, not Union,” Coach Terry Corcoran said. He believes the team chemistry is at a very good balance for this point in the season. “Everyone comes to practice making an effort to improve,” said Corcoran. “Everyone is unselfish and is willing to take whatever role is needed for the team to succeed.”
Against the 17th-ranked Union Dutchmen,the Jays kept the score close in the first half, and the game was tied 3-3 at halftime. However, Union pulled their offense together and outscored Etown 9-3 in the last two quarters, ending the game 12-6.
Boushell led the Blue Jay attack with a hat trick, and Hunsberger tallied two goals. On defense for Etown, Wenger had eight saves. Sophomore defender Matt Frey had five ground ball pickups and six caused turnovers.
Up next for the Blue Jays is a conference game against Lycoming College Saturday, March 30. The Jays look to tally their first conference win with a victory over Lycoming.