Last Sunday, April 11, the Men’s Lacrosse team took to the field for the first time in over a year, facing a tough matchup against the nationally ranked (16th) Wesleyan team. Ultimately, Wesleyan won by a score of 13–7. Nonetheless, the Continentals played well. They were led by Captain Ben Gardner ’21 who had three goals and four assists.

At the beginning of the game, Hamilton was off to a hot start with Gardner scoring his three goals early, ending the first quarter with a tie of 3–3. However, the second quarter saw Wesleyan score five unanswered goals, going into halftime up with a score of 8–3.

Midway through the third quarter, Britt Defeo ’22 and Nathanial Field ’24 each scored a goal. In addition to Field’s goal, two other first-years, Tim Murray ’24 and Zac Perotto ’24, continued the scoring for Hamilton in the final quarter, closing in on Wesleyan’s lead by 4. The game also featured a stand-out performance from Quin Crowley ’22, who won 17 out of 23 face-offs and led the team in picking up ten ground balls. In addition to winning the face-off battle, Hamilton out-shot Wesleyan 48–23 and picked up 13 more ground balls. Wesleyan finished the game with two unanswered goals.

On the bright side, the opening game debuted all ten members of the Class of 2024. Zac Perotto ’24 remarked on the experience saying that, “there was nothing like walking out for the first time as a freshman.” He also noted, “the game changed a lot from high school. But there are definitely positives to take away from the game. The biggest thing is to have the ‘next play’ mentality that the coaches instilled in us.”

Hamilton will face off against Williams on April 17, followed by a game against Trinity the following Sunday, April 24. On May 1, they will close out the season with Wesleyan — a second chance to prove their skills.