Men’s Lax Soaring Towards Greatness

Eastern’s lacrosse team is off to a phenomenal start. Despite the unbalanced weather, the Eagles are staying hot, rolling over the competition this season. In the season opener against Swarthmore College, the Eagles dominated winning 18-8. Eric Waibel, Grant Ferguson and David Darling accounted for 10 of the 18 goals. Senior goalie Nick DiPiano had 14 saves to help ensure the Eagles’ victory over Swarthmore. The Eagles were on a five-game winning streak when they played Gettysburg College (ranked no. 8). The Bullets won 15-9, putting a stop to the Eagles’ winning streak and improving their own record to 6-0. However, the Eagles rebounded, winning their next game against CNU 16-7. The Eagles will be 7-2 entering April and look to stay above the competition.

David Darling scores a goal against Cristopher Newport University. Erica Engle | EU Sports Information

The key to the Eagles’ success has been their defense. In seven out of nine games the Eagles’ defense held the opposition in single digits. Senior Jordan Norris is a playmaker on defense, leading the team with 20 caused turnovers. Mark Cyron follows with 13 caused turnovers. Cyron also has 24 ground balls to add to his stats this season. Eagles’ goalie Nick DiPiano was acknowledged by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association as the Division III South Defensive Player of the Week after his superb game against Swarthmore.

As the season progresses, look for Darling and Ferguson to keep pushing the offense. Darling has 22 goals, and leads the team with 18 assists; he also leads the team with 40 points. All-time Eagles’ leading scorer Ferguson continues his scoring rampage in his final season. He leads the team with 24 goals. Desmond Decker has been playing well as he scored 5 goals in the past two games. Decker has 11 goals and 5 assists this season. Each of these players were noticed as Freedom Conference Player of the Week this season.

Coming into April hot, the Eagles will face King’s College (4/1), Ursinus College (4/4), Misericordia University (4/8), Manhattanville College (4/11), Delaware Valley College (4/15), Desales University (4/18), and FDU-Florham (4/21). Defender Nabig “Junior” Sakr states, “We are half way through the season now and stand at 7-2 and with the second half of the season starting with [Kings], we hope to go undefeated the rest of the season.” The Eagles will need to keep playing hard if they want to stay undefeated the rest of the season. The next seven games will not be easy victories. King’s comes to Eastern with a three-game winning streak after losing their first four games. A victory for King’s will put them at .500; however, the Eagles hope to deny them that opportunity.