The John Carroll University men’s lacrosse team would have a tough task during their two-game home stint. The Blue and Gold’s first opponent was their Ohio Athletic Conference rival, the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets.

The April 3 showdown against the Yellow Jackets would be a rough one to start, as the Blue Streaks found themselves down 8-1 at halftime. Sophomore attack Brendan Whitty made some plays in the first half, and was the only Blue Streak to score a goal.

Coming into the second half, the Blue Streaks would make amends by dominating the action, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 9-4. JCU chipped away at the Yellow Jacket lead all second half, though it would prove to be too much for them to overcome, resulting in a 10-13 loss.

Even in a loss, the Blue and Gold were able to find themselves offensively, as junior attack Skyler Blake would score four goals in the second half.

John Carroll would look to take the momentum gained in the second half against Baldwin Wallace into their matchup against this year’s OAC powerhouse, the Crusaders of Capital.

The April 6 contest would start off with Whitty scoring the first goal of the game and the only goal of the first quarter. In the second quarter of play, the Crusaders would respond by scoring two goals to take a 2-1 lead at the half.

Coming out of the break, the contest would start to heat up as both teams went up and down the field for a combined 10 goals in the third quarter. Players who scored goals for the Blue and Gold in that quarter included Blake, freshman faceoff man Evan Schneeberger and juniors Bennett Gorman and Colin Corcoran.

With the all-important fourth quarter of action coming up, the Blue Streaks would continue to play Capital tough, outscoring them 3-1 in a much lower-paced quarter.

While the Blue and Gold would end up losing an 8-9 nail-biter, they were able to compete with one of the best teams the OAC has to offer.

Whitty was a catalyst for the Blue and Gold’s fourth quarter domination, scoring two of the team’s three goals.

Next up on the docket for the John Carroll men’s lacrosse team will be yet another away game in Alliance, Ohio, on Wednesday, April 10, against the Mount Union Purple Raiders.