The Bison men’s lacrosse team lost a closely contested game at home against Army (8-2) on March 30 by a score of 15-13. The Bison were able to score four unanswered goals late in the fourth quarter to tie the game but conceded two goals in the final minute of the loss. During a mid-week game on April 2, the team bounced back, defeating Marist by a score of 10-7. The team’s record is now 1-4 in the Patriot League and 3-8 overall.

The game against Army was tight from the opening whistle, with neither team able to build a lead of more than two goals. The Bison led 7-6 at the half, but the Black Knights scored six goals to the Bison’s two in the third quarter. Army then scored a quick goal at the start of the fourth quarter to push their lead out to 13-9. The Bison scored four unanswered goals in the next 11 minutes to tie the game with a little over two minutes left.

The Orange and Blue won the ensuing faceoff, but a Bison turnover gave Army the ball and the Black Knights went on to score on the following possession. Army tacked on another goal with just seconds left on the clock to put the game to bed.

Several Bison players turned in excellent performances. Midfielder Tom Smith ’19 contributed a career-high seven points, including a hat-trick and a career-high three assists. Attackman Will Yorke ’20 also netted a hat-trick and collected an assist. Tommy Sopko ’21 and Ryan Durkin ’19 also had multi-goal days, while Alston Tarry ’22 and Reed Malas ’19 each chipped in a goal apiece.

Faceoff specialist Jarett Witzal ’19 was nothing short of spectacular, winning 20 out of 31 faceoffs and scooping up a school-record 14 ground balls. Christian Klipstein ’19 was solid in net for the Bison with 11 saves.

During the game against Marist, the Bison defense paved the path for success. Transitioning from a 6-5 deficit to claiming a 10-6 lead, the defense forced eight turnovers while only allowing three goals to get through in the second half. Registering goals for the Bison were Tarry, Durkin, Sopko, Smith, and Yorke.

“Looking back, we feel at this point that we are as battle-tested as anyone else in the country, playing teams we have played,” Smith said. “Looking forward, we feel like we have all our goals still in front of us. We have proven we can play with anyone at any given time.”

The Bison will be back in action next week when they resume Patriot League play on April 13 against Lafayette at 3:30 p.m.