In a discouraging turn of events, the Oberlin men’s lacrosse team suffered another defeat during a home game last Sunday, April 14, at the hands of Marietta College.

The contest ended with a final score of 3-2 after a foray into overtime, when a shot by Marietta’s Adam Cervenka rolled into the goal for the winning score at 3:11 in overtime.

It seemed early in the game that the Yeomen might come out as the victors, as Oberlin posted a 2-0 lead on goals scored by first-year Mike McKenna and junior Sam Bryar in the first two periods.

It was only during the contest’s third period that Marietta rallied together for a tie that thrust the event into overtime, during which the visiting team was able to make the final point that secured them the win.

Most recently, the team lost 25-2 to Ohio Wesleyan University. Although the Wednesday game was not close, it was significant in that it marked the first time Oberlin had scored against a conference opponent.

The loss, though, left the Yeomen 0-10, and they remain in last place in the North Coast Atlantic Conference standings.

Some of Oberlin’s players expressed some dissatisfaction with the comparatively small number of players on the Yeomen’s team, citing it as a possible reason for the recent loss. However, they were generally optimistic about possible victory in the future.

“To play a team that’s ranked in the top 10 in the nation with 11 guys is just hard,” sophomore Logan Hegg said. “We did it. We stuck together. And we’ll just keep improving.”

Despite their dearth of victories, the players seem to be taking some comfort in the improvements and achievements of individual team members, such as senior goalie Dave Smolev, who is ranked among the national leaders in number of saves and save percentage.

Smolev recorded his 1,000th career save during Wednesday’s game and has also made the most saves by any goalie in one game in the country this year, with 34. He has recorded a total of four games with 30 or more saves.

Hegg said, “It was good to see Dave get his 1,000th save. That was exciting for him and the team.”

From a similarly positive standpoint, Bryar commented on the match with Ohio Wesleyan saying, “I was impressed with what the guys were doing. It showed a marked improvement from where we started at the beginning of the season. [First-year] Nate Beckett did an amazing job. He worked well. And Dave Smolev recorded his 1,000th save, which was just astounding.”

Bryar also expressed satisfaction with the promising development of some of the newer team members, saying, “I am really happy about how some of the new guys are coming along. I couldn’t be happier with their progress right now. They have been crucial to our season, and we wouldn’t be able to play if it weren’t for them.”

The team’s next game will take place on Saturday against Medaille College in Buffalo, New York.