Men's Lacrosse Defense Holds Bowdoin for a Win

Mateo Vazquez ’21
Sports Editor
This week the men’s lacrosse team stepped up their game and were able to secure two wins after suffering a tough defeat to Tufts during spring break.Their first match wasagainst the University of Massachusetts (Wheaton). The Bantams absolutely dominated throughout the game with their ability to continuously suppress the defense. Needless to say they did not give UMass much room to breathe on defense securing a final score of 23-4. Also, within two of the quarters, the Trinity defense had a shutout which was a huge improvement from their spring break gameplay. However, this match was just a small step in preparing them for their conference game against Bowdoin.
In the Bowdoin match, Trinity started the match off on a strong offensive note. Scott Morgan ’18 absolutely dominated in the faceoffs allowing for an immense amount of offen- sive pressure to be placed on the Polar Bears net. The quick offensive drives down to the goal absolutely scrambled Bowdoin’s defense as they frantically attempted to regain possession. However, the Bantams kept their composure and con- tinued to amount their pressure on goal eventually allowing for a 5-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Bantams continued these offensive drives into the second quarter and even integrated a variety of combo plays that allowed for quick ball movement down the field. Once again, the Polar Bears were bamboozled as they were relentless in attempting to stop the Bantams. Needless to say, the Bantams dominated the first half ofthe game and did not allow the Polar Bears to breathe on defense. Although, there were a few instances that the Polar Bears were able to get the ball off their side and to the Bantam goal. The Polar Bears were able to bearly secure 6 goals by the half compared to the Bantams 11.
Despite the lack of energy for the PolarBears in the first halfthey were determined to change the outcome of the game in the second half. From the start, they came out with a much stronger offensive drive than they had in the first half and were able to exchange a few back and forth goals with the Bantams. Bowdoin realized early on that they would not be able to penetrate the Trinity defense as they were trying to do earlier on in the second half and switched their attack to a more aggressive long-shot strategy that did result in a few goals.
However, when the third quarter ended, the Bantams still held a 14-8 lead. Throughout the fourth quarter, the Polar Bears gave it their all to place pressure on the Bantam defense and attempt to gain the lead in the game. However, the Bantam defense held in and kept calm as they were able to not only regain possession but field it up then the offense. The quick turnovers allowed them to gain a few more goal and keep the lead as Bowdoin attempted to come back after making a two goal drive.
In the end, the Bantams beat the Polar Bears by 16-11, which was also their first conference win of the season. This is a great way to lead into their matches against Conn. College and Hamilton this upcoming week, which are also conference matches. We wish them the best of luck in their upcoming games.