With an impressive 4-1 start to the season, the John Carroll University Men’s Lacrosse team defeated non-conference opponent Ohio Wesleyan University on Sat., March 18 in a resounding 11-7 victory. 

The Blue and Gold got off to a fast start as Josh Lombardo ‘26 scored his first goal of the game within the first minute of the faceoff. 

Ian Venard ‘23 followed up with a goal just two minutes later as JCU propelled to a 2-0 start. The Blue Streaks finalized three more goals through Colin Morrissey ‘26 (2) and Max Cook ‘24 before Ohio Wesleyan found the back of the net. 

With a 5-1 lead, John Carroll countered with a Morgan Morrell ‘23 score as the quarter ended 6-1 in favor of the Blue and Gold. 

Slowing down in the second quarter, Matt Berdysiak ‘23 added a goal of his own while Ohio Wesleyan kept the deficit at five with another goal. The score at halftime was 7-2. 

At the start of the half, Ohio Wesleyan came out with a new ferocity as they found the back of the net first to chip away at John Carroll’s lead. 

In a back and forth fashion, JCU scored through Lombardo which was quickly countered by OWU and followed up once again by Morrell as the teams battled for the victory. 

The home team did not back down from the fight as they added three goals in the final quarter of the game. Luckily, the Blue Streaks had scoring contributions from Aidan Dugan ‘25 and Lombardo to keep the Blue and Gold in the lead and earn the 11-7 victory. 

“I was super pleased with how the game turned out on Saturday,” said Lombardo. “We were able to come off the bus and play our game confidently thanks to the preparation the week before. The coaches did a great job making a game plan, scouting and identifying the ideal matchups.”

Lombardo finished the game with his first career hat trick. Morrell totaled four points with two goals and two assists while Morrissey contributed two goals and three assists. 

“As we get into conference play, I am excited to see where we match up with other teams in the conference,” finished Lombardo. “We have to make sure we come ready to play every game, bringing the same type of energy that we brought this past weekend.”