After a seven-game losing streak, men’s lacrosse turned the tide and won against conference opponent Tiffin on the road 12-10 on Saturday.
“As a first-year program with a roster made up mostly of freshmen, not many people expect much from us,” junior Pioneer Tigran Ceesay said. “But we compete at a high level in practice, put in the work off the field and have a lot of talent. Even with the losses we’ve had, we’ve stayed positive, and that mindset carried over into the Tiffin game.”
The game started hot for the Pioneers, with them leading by three with seven minutes left on the clock for the first quarter. The Pioneers continued to stretch the gap between themselves and the Dragons.
“Our energy in the first quarter was unmatched,” Ceesay said. “Defensively, we were locking everything down, and offensively, we moved the ball well and found the looks we work on every day. After that, we knew exactly what we needed to do to win, and we executed the plan together.”
As the Pioneers entered the second quarter, they were in the lead 6-2. The second quarter saw three goals total, one from Point Park’s Parker Bowersox, his third of the game, and two from the Tiffin Dragons.
The Pioneers walked back onto the field after halftime in the lead, 7-4. However, by the end of the third quarter, they found themselves in a tighter spot leading 10-9.
“After a rough third quarter, the only thing that would make us come out on top in the end was to play harder whistle to whistle, even when we were tired,” Point Park goalkeeper Mario Lorenson said.
In the fourth quarter, the Pioneers fought to maintain their lead and earn a win after their drought.
The Dragons tied the game early in the quarter, but not too far behind was attacker Ceesay with two goals, one unassisted and one assisted by Sawyer Leko. This secured the Pioneers the win, 12-10.
“The biggest difficulties I faced against the Tiffin offense were making sure we, as a defensive unit, had the same team, positive mentality after each play, whether we got scored on or we made a mistake, because our mindset is that each person on this team has a role and each role impacts the team,” Lorenson said.
The leaders for Point Park were Lorenson with 14 saves, Bowersox with three goals and Leko, Ceesay, Alec Batchelor and Braydan Stearns with two goals each.
“The group is still pushing to get better each day,” coach Cody Golon said. “We are still trying to play a complete game as a team. We are hoping to compete and win these remaining three games and hopefully make a push for the conference playoffs.”
Point Park has three games left in the regular season. Two this week, the first against Davis & Elkins this evening on the road. The second will be at home against Thomas More on Friday.
“As we head into the final three games of the regular season, our goal is simple: win and make the playoffs,” Ceesay said. “Back in January, Coach Golon emphasized that we needed to play our best lacrosse in April, and after beating Tiffin, we believe we have everything in front of us to be successful.”
The Pioneers are 2-5 in conference play and sit in eighth place in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The top six teams in the conference advance to the Great Midwest Lacrosse Championship in late April.
Point Park joined the GMAC in the fall as an associate member to compete in its men’s lacrosse league.
