The Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse team began its 2024 home schedule with light snow in the air as they took on Brown University. The seats at the Quinnipiac Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium were filled and the crowd was ready to see the first home game of the season.
The Bobcats started fast, as they would get on the board 1:29 into the 1st quarter when senior Ryan Donnery received a pass from fellow senior Steven Germain, putting the Bobcats up 1-0.
Donnery and Germain would combine for three more points in the first, both scoring and Germain assisting the efforts of the three other goal scores of the quarter: graduate student Jake Tellers, senior Trevor Douglas and graduate student John DeLucia. The Bobcats would lead 5-1 after one.
“He’s not really looking for points,” head coach Mason Poli said regarding Germain’s four goal, seven point game. “He’s just looking to see what the defense brings him.”
Brown would not go down without a response in the second, as Aidan McLane would put two more on the board for the Bears making the score 5-3. Two minutes later, Germain would respond by firing the ball past Brown’s netminder, senior Connor Theriault, for a hat trick.
“Working the two man game, two lefties on the wing,” Germain responded when asked where this offensive explosion came from. “Causing them to switch, so there’s always going to be an open guy.” The Bobcats would finish the half up 7-4 on the Bears.
Quinnipiac’s goaltender, junior Mason Oak, stepped up in that first half with eiht saves. Oak has some huge shoes to fill with stalwart Nick DiMuccio graduating after last season. Oak would finish the game with 15 saves, a good response to DiMuccio’s 21 last season against Brown.
Oak not only had to compete against the players on the field, but against some Brown fans as well, who tried distracting the goalie during the game.
When asked about it, Oak stated, “Just got to tune it out you know. Make ‘em quiet when making a big stop or a big save”.
Ryan Donnery would also get a hat trick for the Bobcats, as after three quarters, the Bobcats would lead 10-5. Senior Dylan Donnery would get a two minute, locked penalty, allowing Brown to have a man advantage even if they scored. Brown would capitalize, scoring two goals.
When asked about the situation, Poli stated, “definitely a fine line. We’ve gotta learn to balance. We want to bring a physical tone and mindset to the game. At times it can lead to some laundry hitting the field.”
Poli would be skeptical of that call, but his focus remained on the game.
The Bobcats would make those two goals the last for Brown as they would keep the Bears to seven goals all day and win 13-7. The Bobcats improved to 2-0 on the season, but more tests lie ahead for this team. They will next be in action on Saturday, Feb. 24, in Smithfield, Rhode Island to take on the Bryant Bulldogs.
