WMVO Good Times Great Oldies
BEREA, Ohio – The Kenyon College men’s lacrosse team made the trip to northeast Ohio on Wednesday night to take on the Baldwin Wallace University Yellowjackets for the squad’s first away game of the season.
In a close contest that saw six lead changes despite Kenyon controlling nearly every statistical category, the Owls were able to score meaningful goals down the stretch to capture its second win of the season 12-11.
The Owls came out with an immediate burst of offense, as Rollins Heath was quick to score the game’s first goal being held scoreless in Kenyon’s season-opening win against Transylvania.
After two straight Baldwin Wallace goals, Gavin Gumucio notched his second tally of the season with a low-to-high underhand missile to the top corner of the net to tie the game back up at two.
Chase MacCartee would put the finishing touches on the Owls’ efficient first quarter with a sidearm sling of his own, as Kenyon fired off 15 shots in the first 15 minutes, but the game was tied at three.
In the second, David Chintala picked up right where he left off last game by scoring a diving wrap-around goal to give Kenyon its second lead of the contest, but three straight goals by the Yellowjackets put the Owls down 6-4 nearing halftime.
Chintala scored again 1:18 left to play to bring the Owls within one, and despite leading in shots, shots on goal, faceoffs won, and groundballs, Kenyon trailed 6-5 after 30 minutes.
Baldwin Wallace scored two quick goals to open the third to put the home team up 8-5, but Heath, Chintala and first-year long-stick midfielder Henry Moderelli each found the back of the net within three minutes of each other to tie the game at eight.
After the Yellowjackets took another lead, Chintala drove down the right side and navigated through two defenders to earn his third goal of the night in the closing minutes of the quarter and knot the game at 9-9 with 15 minutes to play.
The fourth quarter started relatively slowly compared to the rest of the game, but after Gumucio’s ride knocked the ball free from a Baldwin Wallace defender, Chintala scooped up the loose change and cashed in on an uncontested look at the cage to give the Owls a 10-9 lead five minutes into the quarter.
The Owls’ man-down unit was sensational tonight, turning away all four opportunities for the Yellowjackets, leading to valuable possessions on the other end. After a successful man-down defense at the five minute mark, Heath hit his third goal of the night off of a nice assist by MacCartee, and first-year midfielder Tanner Lewis quickly followed it up with a time-and-room dart of his own to put Kenyon ahead 12-9 with four minutes to play.
Baldwin Wallace scored two goals down the stretch to give Kenyon a late scare, but thanks to Thomas Nelson, who won 19 faceoffs and picked up 13 groundballs on the day, the Owls gained possession after each score and were able to melt down most of the clock and win the game 12-11.
On the day, Kenyon outshot Baldwin Wallace 56-31, 32-19 on goal. The Owls owned the ground game, gaining a 39-19 advantage in ground balls, and caused seven turnovers. Chintala finished with five goals, scooped up seven ground balls, and led the team with three caused turnovers. Heath added three and MacCartee dished out a team-high two assists.
Defensively, Adam Hall had eight saves while Samuel LoPiccolo had an impressive 20-save effort for the Yellowjackets, but it was not enough to top the Owls.
Kenyon’s record moves to 2-0 on the season and the squad will stay on the road for a Saturday contest in Columbus to take on the Capital University Comets (1-1) at 1:00 pm.
