Little Giants Fight Past Ravens in Thriller

Wabash College fought past the Anderson University men's lacrosse team in a 11-10 victory during Wednesday's thriller at Macholtz Stadium.

The Ravens (0-2) held a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter. Wabash (2-0) scored the next four goals to carry a 6-4 lead into halftime. During the third quarter, the Little Giants held a 9-5 lead. Cole Whatley (Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) helped put the Ravens back in the game by scoring the next three goals.

A goal from Wabash's Joseph Plencer put the Little Giants up by two in the fourth. Josh Rhodes (Vienna, Va./James Madison) found the back of the net for the Ravens, but A.J. Shaheen added an insurance goal to put Wabash ahead 11-9 with 1 minute, 21 seconds left in the contest.

With 14.1 seconds left in the contest, Wabash's Will Goheen was sent to the penalty box to create a man-up opportunity. It took just 3.7 seconds for Rhodes to deliver a goal assisted by Landon Lawrence (Westfield, Ind./Westfield). With 10.4 seconds remaining, Anderson looked to score a game-tying goal. Although the Ravens won the faceoff, the Little Giants did not allow the Ravens to create a scoring opportunity and held on for the win.

"We lost [on Wednesday], because we lost focus," Coach Jacob Ashton said. "Wabash was a physical team and we let them get the best of us emotionally. We didn't stick to our game plan offensively and missed opportunities. I believe we came into the game a little overconfident and as the game progressed, we started to play down to Wabash's level."

Whatley led the Ravens with four goals. The sophomore from Green Bay, Wis. won 12-of-20 (60 percent) faceoffs and collected nine ground balls. Rhodes contributed three goals and an assist. Landon Lawrence provided two assists and five ground balls. Logan Lawrence (Westfield, Ind./Westfield) notched one goal and two assists. Michael Ertel (Miami, Ohio/Little Miami) tallied a goal and an assist while Johnathan Havener (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmount) netted a goal. Eric Fisher (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) saved nine of the 20 shots he faced.

Wabash cleared 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) attempts while Anderson finished 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) on clears.

"There were many improvements at times. We are close to greatness, but our guys need to learn what it truly takes to get there."