The final game of the regular season for the men's lacrosse team proved to be a tough matchup. In Pirates history, they have played fourteen games against the Colorado College Tiger and have never come away victorious. The Pirates had their work cut out against a Tiger team whose skill was un-represented by their 2-7 record. The Pirates would also be without their top five faceoff man in Division III, Hudson Bearden.
The Tigers started at lightning pace, scoring three unanswered goals to begin the first quarter. The Tigers pushed the ball down the field early and often. The first goal of the game came from a Tiger's long-stick defender. Unfortunately, that would not be the last goal from a defender. Three more long-stick defenders scored in the first quarter for the Tigers extending their lead to 7-3 by the end of the first.
The Tigers scored three more unanswered goals throughout the first five minutes of the second quarter. The Pirates' defense could not stop the bleeding as the Tigers lit up the Pirates for twelve goals by the end of the first half. The Pirates only managed four goals from Cody Foster, Matt Caldwell, and Justin Macha for a halftime deficit of 12-4 and an eight-goal lead by the Tigers.
The blistering pace at which the Tigers played in the first half was key to the significant lead. As the Pirates would substitute their midfield on turnovers, the Tigers gave their defenders the green light to push up the field in transition leading to fast break goals. Thankfully, the Pirates made halftime adjustments, telling their midfielders to match up with the defenders on the ride, forcing the Tigers to go into a settled clear. Thanks to their halftime adjustments, the Pirates went on to win the third quarter, outscoring the Tigers by a margin of 6-2.
Attackman Matt Caldwell scored two more goals in the third along with So. midfielder Tommy Dyson and Jr. Tommy Saueressig to help the Pirates cut their deficit to 14-10 by the end of the third quarter.
Possessions were hard to come by for the Pirates at the faceoff, going 11 for 36 and only a 30.6% win percentage. Although Hudson Bearden played, he came into the game feeling sick and unwell, so Fr. Anthony Caudillo took most of the draws for the Pirates, with fellow freshmen Gabe Morgan helping him out as well.
With a 14-10 lead going into the fourth quarter, there was uncertainty for the Tigers, who undoubtedly thought they had the game in the bag after the first half. Cody Foster cut the lead down to only three goals two minutes into the fourth. But the Pirates were unable to complete the comeback. Anytime they scored, the Tigers answered right back. Colorado College went on a three-goal run in the final eight minutes to secure the 19-14 victory.
Luckily for the Pirates, their season doesn't end here. The Pirates will travel to Illinois to play in the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference tournament for an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The conference tournament semifinal games will take place on May 6th at St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, Illinois, at 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM.
