Our Pioneers Men's Lacrosse team took the field for the first time this 2023 season where they faced off against a familiar opponent in Sewanee. The last time these two teams met was in the 2021 season where the Pioneers defeated the Tigers in the then season opener, 16-7. Last year we did not play Sewanee as they advanced to the second round in the NCAA Tournament so this matchup was sure to be exciting and a good test for our team. 

The Pioneers come into this season motivated with preseason All American, Dalton Hubbs taking the metaphoric reins as the only Pioneer to get the nod. The game today however didn't start in the Pioneers favor with Sewanee putting up 2 goals 5 minutes in before Hubbs countered back with one of his own. Sewanee would then go on to score two more before the period break ending the first quarter with a score of 1-4. 

The next quarter the Pioneers offense started to form having better possession control as well as attempted more shots this quarter than they did the rest of the game able to convert on one of them. Today the Pioneers had a plan for the clear, doing so in great fashion completing them 73% of the time today. With some tough 50-50 calls not going the Pios way Sewanee was able to build their lead minutely with the half ending 2-6 in favor of the Tigers. 

The third quarter was a defensive one for the Pioneers as it had been for most of the game with the ball staying on our half for much of this quarter. This half did however allow Transy to sync up defensively, headed by Senior Defenseman Evan Deskins, where their communication on switching and doubling caused turnovers for Sewanee. Topher Hays played a fantastic game despite the amount of action he face, showing why the Pio's trust him in between the cage where he collected several saves despite the overall dificult outcome. This quarter showed how good Transy can be on both sides of the ball with both teams only scoring 1, Transy's goal this quarter came from Hubbs giving him 2 up to this point.

Coming into the fourth, historically Transy plays well when down often, winning last year in the second half and for this quarter we would need much of the same. Down 4 points the Pioneers started to shift the momentum, netting 2 goals in a row half way through the quarter and showed the potential this offense has in quick scoring opportunities. Sadly Sewanee got too many shots off on Transy gaining 2 more of their own near the end pushing their lead as it had been most of the game back to 4. The Pioneers sadly lost this one 5-9 but have seen a lot to build on, especially against a rigged opponent such as Sewanee. 

After the game head coach Logan Otto had this to say:

"It is always tough to start the season with a loss but we know this team is capable of great things. We know they will bounce back."

The pioneers look to bounce back in their next game, which is away at Centre, for a school rivalry game that always excites on Wednesday February 15th at 7:00 PM.