Bridgewater, Va.- On Sunday, March 12, the Bridgewater men’s lacrosse team fell short to Ohio Northern University after a snowy and close game.

The Bridgewater versus Ohio Northern game had a close four-point margin finish, with a final score of 9-5.

The game started off with the Eagles striking first with a goal from graduate-student Chris Martel from an assist by junior Hayden Gourley.

The Polar Bears responded with two goals of their own to make the score 2-1. 

Martel then scored another goal to make the score even and end the first quarter at 2-2. 

“Chris does a great job shooting the ball and putting himself in space to score,” said Gourley. “He’s been a very important piece of the offense for many years, and I’m proud of how he played today.”

The Polar Bears started off the second quarter with back-to-back goals to make the score 4-2.

Senior Connor McLean found the back of the net from a pass from first-year Luke Wendler, making the score 4-3, heading into halftime.

At the start of the third quarter, the Polar Bears scored three straight goals to make the score 7-3.

The Eagles then fired back a goal from Wendler, assisted by Connor. The score was 7-4 heading into the final period.

Junior Tyler Carney held his own throughout the game and made twelve saves with the help of the Eagles’ defense. Junior Gabriel Alexander and senior Sam Sharps went 10 for 17 on a faceoff.

“I thought Tyler made a couple of big saves when we needed them,” said junior Dan Flynn. “I think our face-off units, with Gabe and Sam, did a good job winning the face-off battle today.”

The Polar Bears opened the fourth quarter with a goal, making the score 8-4. 

The Eagles responded with a goal from sophomore Drew Huber from a pass from junior Trevor McClelland on an extra-man offense opportunity. This made the score 8-5. 

The Polar bears ended the game’s score with another goal with about 90 seconds left in the game, making the final score 9-5.

“It was definitely a challenging game,” said Pete Nyand, parent of junior midfielder Grant Nyland. “[Bridgewater] cleared the ball better and their attack and midfielders rode hard. I thought they played well but did not play and execute as much as they could have to win the game.”

The Eagles are back in action at home with their ODAC opener on Saturday, March 18 at 1 p.m. against Ferrum College.