Men’s lacrosse (6-7, 2-6 NESCAC) snapped their four-game losing streak in a 14-13 win against the MIT Engineers (7-6) on Tuesday night after the team fell 10-9 to the No. 13 Amherst Mammoths (6-5, 5-3 NESCAC) on Saturday.
The Ephs got out to a strong start in the rivalry game against Amherst as co-captain and attacker Will Doran ’26 scored his 30th goal of the season three minutes into the first quarter. After a back-and-forth battle, the teams ended the quarter tied at 2-2.
Although the Ephs trailed 3-4 entering halftime, the team surged in the third period, scoring five goals to take a two-goal lead over the Mammoths heading into the fourth.
Despite the Ephs’ efforts, the Mammoths regained control in the fourth quarter with four consecutive goals. With 13 seconds remaining, attacker Ryan Nagle ’27 found the net to pull the Ephs within one, but the team ultimately fell just short, losing 10-9.
Despite the loss, the Ephs remained optimistic and focused on improvement moving forward. “It’s obviously super unfortunate to lose to your rival, Amherst, but a lot of goals for our team are still ahead of us,” goalie Charlie Medd ’27 said. “A lot of lacrosse is left to be played, so we just have to continue working hard at it.”
The team carried that mindset to Cambridge, Mass., in their competition against MIT. The Engineers jumped out to an early lead with four goals in the first quarter, while Nagle contributed the Ephs’ lone goal.
Nagle highlighted the Ephs’ unwavering grit even as they faced a three-goal deficit against the Engineers. “We’re never going to give up, we’re always going to give our best for four quarters,” he said. “That’s always the goal.”
Entering the second quarter, the Ephs quickly found their footing, answering with two goals in the opening three minutes. After another Engineers goal, midfielder Davis Miller ’28 scored twice in just over a minute, tying the game 5-5. Three minutes before halftime, the Engineers pulled ahead to a 6-5 lead.
The Ephs carried this momentum into the second half, with midfielder Ryan Johnson ’26 scoring his second goal of the day early in the third quarter. A couple minutes later, Nagle struck again, giving the Ephs their first lead of the game. The Engineers briefly tied the game at 7-7, before the Ephs extended their lead with four straight goals. In the final seconds of the quarter, the Engineers cut the deficit to end the quarter 11-8.
The final quarter opened with both teams exchanging goals, before Nagle and attacker Nick Reich ’29 each completed a hat trick, including Reich’s first as an Eph.
Despite four unanswered goals from the Engineers to close out the game, the Ephs held on for a 14-13 win. Doran credited the defense as a key factor behind their win. “[They] are the reason we have held some great teams to low goal totals all year and that was evident tonight with a defensive stand with the game on the line,” he wrote in a message to the Record.
Doran also emphasized the importance of maintaining trust in the face of challenges. “As the season progresses and you see some games not end up the way you want, it’s easy to catch yourself looking ahead and overlooking games immediately in front of you,” he wrote. “[I] have to give a ton of credit to our coaching staff for relentlessly instilling that belief in our team.”
The Ephs will return home to host the No. 4 Wesleyan Cardinals (9-3, 5-3 NESCAC) on Saturday, before traveling to face the No. 14 Middlebury Panthers (7-5, 4-4 NESCAC) in their last regular season game on April 22.
