Caitlin Dorsch ~ Copy Desk Chief
After losing a tough game against Salisbury University on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019 at home by a score of 9-11, the No. 17 nationally ranked UofL Men’s Lacrosse team defeated the No. 19 nationally ranked Franklin & Marshall Diplomats on Saturday, February 16, 2019 by a score of 11-8.
This Saturday’s match marks the first win of the Hornets regular season campaign. Senior attackman Evan Lombardo found the net six times, followed up junior midfielder Kevin Rodgers, senior attackman Andrew Thomas, sophomore midfielder Clayton Jones, sophomore midfielder A. J. Nieves, and junior attacker Colin Dean, all of whom scored netted one goal each. Senior attacker Logan Adams, led in the assist column for the Hornets by getting six assists during the match, a personal career-high.
In response to the team’s win, junior defender Jake Vignali insisted, “We have done a lot of work on our team culture in the fall season, and we have been trying to be attentive to it and it has been transitioning very well.”
Vignali explained that their fall season was a grueling one. He said that they lifted three times per week, played, and conditioned during their fall season. He went further to talk about how the team’s chemistry was also a point of focus during the fall season. Vignali stated, “The guys are bonding and learning at an exceptional rate.”
This high, intense work rate that Vignali emphasizes is continued by junior defender Tyler Gallagher’s statements. Gallagher explained, “We always talk about the next man up on the roster and having such a supportive team through a good culture is extremely important in big games [like against Franklin & Marshall University] because it is not necessarily always the star player that is going to make the plays. We all have the faith and confidence in every man on the team to do what needs to be done to win.”
According to Gallagher, team chemistry is what makes a team strong and so connected to each other one the field in tight matches where the team is continuously tested throughout the match.
The UofL Hornets continue their regular season campaign this Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 at home against No. 8 nationally ranked Cabrini University at 1 p.m. This will be their second match at home this regular season. Please come out to cheer on the Hornets team as they battle on Shellenberger Field.
