Generals Lacrosse Chips Away at a Win

HERKIMER, NY -- On March 19, Herkimer General's men's lacrosse team played Monroe Community College Tribunes at Wehrum Stadium. The Generals played an impressive game against their quality opponents with the final score ending in 9-13.

Even though the Generals weren't able to execute the comeback against the Tribunes, they were able to execute a clean game that kept them at the tail end of their opponents. Scorers in the first quarter included Joey Ondrako(New Hartford, NY) and Khyler Johnson(Akwesasne, NY). The Generals kept up the momentum in the first quarter, ending with a tight score of 2-1 against the Tribunes.

Herkimer carried the intensity well into the second quarter but found themselves at a standstill. They were locked in tight with the Tribunes in the beginning of the quarter but as the quarter went on they found themselves low on the scoreboard. From a defensive standpoint, they were able to hold their own by preventing their opponents from advancing too much in their offensive line. Although the Tribunes were able to make some advances, they were unable to secure much of a lead. The Generals continued nipping at the heels of their opponents and began to move in on them.

The third quarter brought with it a lot of opportunities for the Generals to turn the game around. The Generals were able to show their potential in this quarter as they marked up on some key players to prevent anymore advances by the Tribunes. They found themselves unable to follow through on some of their plays, however, and were at a halt performance wise.

Within seconds of the fourth quarter, midfielder Ezra Stahlman(Salamanca, NY) locked in a goal for the Generals. This was very telling of what was to come in this final quarter as the Generals would continue to push towards advancing. Austin Racquet kept the energy high as he scored the fifth goal for the Generals. The Generals would knock out four more goals by the end, proving their ability to make a comeback.

Head Coach Robert Leary had a lot to say about the game, opening up about his team's "quality opponent" being ranked #7 in the country. He went onto say that, "They played a good game with a lot of character." He also suggested that Herkimer could have probably secured a win given more time, but overall he was pretty happy with their performance. Although Herkimer was low in the second quarter, he thought if they were able to "minimize and execute," they would have been able to make a comeback earlier on. As he puts it though, "they were chipping away at the lead throughout the entirety of the game."   

Although the Generals weren't able to secure a win, they were able to turn the game around and didn't let their opponent dominate them. Each team drove the energy up as either one could have come out on top. It was a good matchup that kept the competitive nature of the sport up. It all came down to who was able to carry through.