GAMBIER, Ohio – A back-and-forth battle at Benson Bowl ended in heartbreak for the Kenyon College men's lacrosse team Saturday afternoon, as Elmhurst University scored the overtime winner to edge the Owls, 15-14, in Kenyon's final nonconference game. The Owls move to 4-5 on the season while the Bluejays improve to 6-2.
The contest unfolded like a rollercoaster from the opening whistle. Elmhurst struck first, scoring twice within the opening minutes before building a 4-1 advantage midway through the first quarter. Kenyon's offense began to find its rhythm soon after, sparked by senior David Chintala. The senior attackman put the Owls on the board with a strike off a feed from Tanner Lewis at the 10:41 mark, igniting a rally that would define much of the afternoon.
EU continued to apply pressure early, stretching its lead to 6-1 with a pair of quick goals from Landon Davis. The Owls, however, refused to fold. Chintala began to take over offensively, scoring twice in the final four minutes of the opening period, including a sharp finish following a caused turnover by Henry Moderelli. Kenyon trimmed the deficit further just before the horn when Lucas Flynn found the back of the net off an assist from Gavin Gumucio, cutting Elmhurst's lead to 6-4 heading into the second quarter.
The second frame settled into a defensive grind as both sides traded possessions and forced turnovers. Elmhurst managed to push the margin back to three with a goal from Eli Spence but Kenyon continued to chip away. Chintala added another goal midway through the quarter, and Mike Kapral ripped home a strike off an assist from Lewis with just over five minutes remaining, pulling the Owls within one. Elmhurst clung to a 7-6 lead heading into halftime.
The third quarter delivered another burst of intensity. The Bluejays opened the half with a man-up goal before adding another shortly after to make it 9-7. KC responded in quick fashion. Chintala netted another goal off a slick pass from Gumucio, and moments later sophomore Alex Haag buried a shot off a feed from Harrison Curtiss to knot the game at 9-9. Elmhurst answered quickly, but the Owls again clawed their way back. Kapral finished a late goal with 30 seconds remaining in the period, and in dramatic fashion Chintala struck again just seconds later, burying a Lewis assist to tie the contest at 11-11 as the third quarter expired.
Chintala continued his offensive eruption in the fourth, converting a man-up opportunity early in the period to give Kenyon its first lead of the game at 12-11. Lewis added another shortly after, and then struck again with under three minutes remaining, pushing the Owls ahead 14-11. Capitalizing on a man-up opportunity, the Bluejays cut the deficit to two with just over two minutes left. Another goal with one minute remaining tightened the margin to 14-13, and with only seconds left on the clock, the visitors found the equalizer as Spence slipped free in front of the net to force overtime at 14-14.
The extra session proved short-lived. After trading possessions early in overtime, Elmhurst gained control and Spence delivered the decisive strike with 55 seconds remaining, sealing the 15-14 victory.
Chintala led the charge with a remarkable outing, scoring seven goals while adding an assist and two ground balls. The performance marked both his highest goal total of the season and tied the most goals he has scored in a single game in his career. Lewis also delivered a standout performance, recording a hat trick of goals and a hat trick of assists for six points, his most productive offensive outing of the season. Kapral added two goals and two ground balls, while Flynn contributed a goal and an assist. Haag chipped in a goal and Gumucio orchestrated the attack with three assists. Ben Devitis also added an assist.
At the faceoff X, Will Jordan controlled much of the possession battle, winning 17-of-27 and collecting a team-high 10 ground balls.
Defensively, the Owls forced 15 turnovers and collected 44 ground balls compared to Elmhurst's 33. Senior goalkeeper Adam Hall made 11 saves while facing 26 shots on goal, finishing with a .554 save percentage after conceding 15 times.
Kenyon ultimately won the faceoff battle as a team, going 18-for-31 compared to Elmhurst's 13-for-31, but the Bluejays capitalized on their late opportunities to steal the overtime victory.
The Owls now turn their attention to conference play, opening their North Coast Athletic Conference slate at home against Wittenberg University on Saturday, March 28. First faceoff is set for 1 p.m.
