Men’s Lacrosse snags an important conference win

On April 21, Men’s Lacrosse claimed the top spot from previously undefeated in conference Elizabethtown College, in overtime 12-11.

Senior captain Michael Hofmeister scored one goal, but it was the game winner in overtime. Unassisted, Hofmeister dodged by his defender and scored to end the game.

“I didn’t know how to celebrate so I just started running,” Hofmeister said. “I didn’t get very far before I was tackled by my teammates.”

The Eastern bench cleared and even the Eastern fans that took the bus rushed the field to celebrate.

Now that the Eagles are 8-1 in conference, claiming sole control of first place. “We’ve all worked really hard to get to this point, now all the hard work is paying off,” senior Ben Horton said.

First-year Zach Ivy scored five times as he led the team in goals.

But the unsung hero was on the other side of the field: junior captain Matt Mandia who held Elizabethtown’s Aaron Weber to just two goals.

Weber holds the most points per game average in the MAC and scored seven times against Eastern in last year’s game. Mandia leads Eastern’s defense, the MAC’s best defense, allowing an average of only 6.22 goals a game.

There was no looking back as Men’s Lacrosse routed Lebanon Valley College, 18-6, just days later. But they aren’t done yet; their hard work doesn’t stop at the end of the regular season.

“Our goal from day one was to win the conference championship,” Horton said. “Now we also want to host it.”