Kenyon comes close, but can’t grab Grove City

Box Score Grove City, Pa. – The Kenyon College men's lacrosse team booted up for one more non-conference road test in the team's spring break slate before returning to Gambier and starting the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) season, facing off against Grove City College on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls kept it close with the Wolverines throughout, never trailing by more than five on the day and eventually cutting the lead to two in the fourth quarter, but could not catch up in the end, falling 14-10.

Grove City (4-5) got on the board first, scoring the game's two first goals, but Kenyon responded in a big way to cut the early lead in half. Goalkeeper Adam Hall capitalized on the Wolverines' 10-man ride, leaving the opposing keeper out of the net. From well past the midfield line, Hall ripped a shot the length of the field and into the net to give the Owls their first goal. The tally is the first of his collegiate career.

The Wolverines scored thrice more in the first quarter, but with under a minute left in the frame Thomas Nelson added a faceoff win, ground ball, and his second goal of the season to cut the lead to 5-2 after 15 minutes.

Mike Kapral got the second period started with his 15th goal of the season assisted by David Chintala, but Grovey City fired back with three more. That duo added one goal each with under a minute in the half to cut the deficit to 8-5 after 30 minutes.

Lucas Flynn converted on a turnaround shot with 7:45 in the third to open scoring in the second half and make it a two-goal game, but Grove City quickly responded on the next faceoff to regain a 9-6 lead with 7:38 remaining in the third.

The teams traded goals again to end the low-scoring quarter, as Gavin Collins converted on a man-up opportunity for Kenyon (5-3) to score his first goal of the season, while the Wolverines fired back with 2:48 in the third to take a 10-7 lead to the fourth.

The Owls struck first in the fourth quarter as well, as Flynn netted his second of the game, but this time Grove City tallied two goals to take its biggest lead since the second quarter at 12-8 with 12 minutes to play.

Kenyon refused to go away, however, as Alex Haag scored his fifth goal of the season to cut the lead to 12-9 with 10 minutes remaining. The Wolverines again added two goals to stretch the lead to 14-9, and despite a late tally from Rollins Heath, it wasn't enough in the end, falling 14-10.

Cintala led the offense with three points on a goal and two assists, while Flynn, Haag, and Kapral had two points each. Ben Divitis tallied the lone caused turnover for the Owls, while Hall added 15 saves to his goal. Nelson went 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) from the faceoff dot and brought in a team-high four ground balls.

Kenyon will kick off North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) action on Saturday, March 22 at 2:00 pm in Crawfordsville, Indiana against Wabash College.

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Players Mentioned

#22 David Chintala: A; Junior

#27 Gavin Collins: M; Sophomore

#3 Lucas Flynn: A; Sophomore

#35 Adam Hall: G; Junior

#44 Rollins Heath: M; Senior

#15 Mike Kapral: A; Junior

#28 Thomas Nelson: FO; Senior

#14 Alex Haag: A/M; First-Year

Players Mentioned

#22 David Chintala
: Junior
: A

#27 Gavin Collins
: Sophomore
: M

#3 Lucas Flynn
: Sophomore
: A

#35 Adam Hall
: Junior
: G

#44 Rollins Heath
: Senior
: M

#15 Mike Kapral
: Junior
: A

#28 Thomas Nelson
: Senior
: FO

#14 Alex Haag
: First-Year
: A/M