By Caitilin McCarthy
Executive Staff
Photo courtesy of http://www.sewaneetigers.com
March 29, the Sewanee Tigers men’s lacrosse team took Hardee-McGee field, ready to face off against the Birmingham Southern Panthers. With two recent wins under theirready to cinch a third.
The Panthers should have known the Tigers don’t mess around, especially on their home turf. With five minutes left in the first quarter, attack Robbie Berndt (C’18) scored the first goal of the game. A mere eight seconds later he scored again. With two back-to-back goals, BS started to worry – the matchup was definitely not off to a good start if they wanted to seize the big W from the Tigers’ claws.BS put up their first score of the game with a goal at the 2:21 mark.
One goal wasn’t going to deter the Tigers, and especially not Berndt who came back to score for a third time in the second quarter. Thirty seconds after Berndt’s third goal, BS scored again, marking the beginning of a back-and-forth that would continue until the fourth quarter. This goal was followed closely by attack Matthew Stiefel (C’17) to wrap up the first half.
Coaches on both sides of the field revved up their players to take on the second half. Fighting for the win, BS came out with the first goal of the third quarter. This was no deterrent for the dynamic duo, and midfielder Peter Brown (C’18) found his brother midfielder Cotter Brown (C’16) for the assist, who proceeded to score an excellent shot, bringing the score to 5-3 Sewanee. After almost six minutes of action-packed defense from both ends of the field, BS finally scored their fourth goal of the game. This was quickly followed with an assist from Stiefel to midfielder Jimmy Parker (C’18) for a perfect shot. Fighting for the win, BS scored for the 5th time to close out the third quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, the fans were going wild. BS had brought the score up to 5-6, Sewanee, and both teams were battling out the match. Despite three grueling quarters, the Tigers remained fresh and focused as BS began to waver. With an assist by midfielder Jake Pesetsky (C’18), Peter Brown pummeled the ball into the BS goal to kickstart the last quarter.
With 8:23 remaining in the game Berndt scored yet again, making his fourth goal of the game. This was followed by Peter Brown assisting Pesetsky for another Sewanee goal. With under a minute and half in the game, BSwas panicking at the 9-6 Sewanee scoreboard read. The Panthers managed to make one last shot, but the game was as good as done. Midfielder Hal Smith (C’15) made an unassisted goal to finish the game.
On the offense, game leaders for this matchup included Berndt with an astounding four goals and Cotter Brown with two flawless goals. Goalkeeper Selby Austin (C’17) and Smith both also earn this title with 15 saves and 11 groundballs, respectively. The sweet Tiger victory, 10-6, marked the last home game and the seventh win for Sewanee men’s lacrosse this season. While the Tigers only have two games left in the regular season, with their winning record they are bound to bring excitement to the playoffs. Congratulations on yet another sweet win, Tigers! YSR!