Photo by Matt Hembree
By Harry Davis
Staff Writer
On Saturday, March 4, the Sewanee Men’s Lacrosse team lost to Roanoke College at home 14-5.
The Tigers started off the season with a tough loss to the Catholic University Cardinals 10-9 after pulling within a goal in the final 22 seconds of the game. Sewanee then played at Guilford College, winning 10-6 before finishing off the February games with a 11-3 pounding of Transylvania.
The Roanoke Maroons’ offensive has scored a combined 48 goals in their first three games. The Maroons looked to extend their winning streak from last year’s game, which they won 16-5. Just over two years ago, the Tigers earned their best win in program history against the often nationally ranked Maroons 10-9.
Sewanee started off the game with fire, leading to a score of two to one at the end of the first quarter with goals by Tristan Robinson (C’18) and Pat DiMento (C’18). The Roanoke’s offensive then took off with a dominant second quarter where they scored four goals. In the first half, Roanoke and Sewanee were a combined 22/23 on clears showing both teams’ execution. Roanoke led the shot total 26-19 after the first 30 minutes.
The second half began much the same as the previous quarter ended, as Roanoke poured it on with four goals to Sewanee’s one goal in the third quarter. Sewanee’s offensive struggled in the second half, scoring two goals after scoring at least four goals in all previous halves of games. The execution that was evident in the first half for the Tigers began to diminish as their clears dropped from 11 out of 11 to six of 12, leading to more chances for Roanoke in Sewanee’s zone. Sewanee’s turnovers piled up, coughing up 13 to Roanoke’s eight in the second half.
After a good start to the season Sewanee got an unfortunate reality check against a strong team in Roanoke. The next couple games will be important ones for the team, as they must choose how they respond to this loss. This game can be used as a measuring stick to show Sewanee’s progress but also what needs to change.
Looking forward, Sewanee will play Albion College at home on Wednesday, March 8, before finishing off the week against Skidmore College on Sunday, March 12.