Georgetown, Texas - The Pirates were slated to have a highly contested matchup on Wednesday night at Varsity Field. Southwestern came into the game against Elmhurst 6-4 on the season, 2-1 in conference play, while the Blue Jays were 5-1 against really strong competition.

Both offenses came out in a fury. Nine goals were scored between the two teams in the first quarter alone as each defense struggled to get comfortable on the field. It was the newcomers for the Pirates that would shine on offense in the first quarter. First-years Matthew Swandal, Jackson Strauser, Nate Duncan, and Joey Primm combined for four of the Pirate's five goals in the first. The Pirates led 5-4 at the end of the first, with more offense to come in the second. 

The Pirate defense continued to struggle stopping the Blue Jays in the second quarter, allowing five goals with four of those in the last eight minutes of the half. It was make it, take it lacrosse for the Blue Jays, who went 6-9 at the faceoff X in the second quarter and went 21-30 for the game. Seventeen total goals would be scored in the first half alone, and it was the Blue Jays coming out on top at halftime by a score of 9-8.  

As the defenses settled into the game, each team's offenses began to pick and choose their shots and took time to get into their settled sets. As a result, each team traded goals in the third quarter. Another first-year and Georgetown native, Matthew Houtz, scored ten minutes into the quarter. Later on, Tyler Johnson would tally the third goal of the quarter for the Pirates to bring the score to 11-11 before the Blue Jays took a 12-11 lead heading into the fourth.

Sophomore attackman Cade McDonald tied the game for the Pirates midway through the final quarter off an assist from Swandal. Just as the Pirates were gaining momentum for a comeback, the Blue Jays stymied their run with two goals in a row to take a 14-12 lead with four minutes in the game. Duncan would do his best to bring the Pirates within one goal with a little over a minute remaining, but a final dagger goal from the Blue Jays after the ensuing faceoff would bring the final score to 15-13 and a loss for the Pirates on Varsity Field. 

Southwestern will attempt to bounce back and break a three-game losing streak when they take on the Whittier College Poets in a historic rivalry game on Sunday, March 26th, at 12:00 PM.