Last Saturday, the Wake Forest Men’s Lacrosse team took the field for the first time this season in a home opener against North Carolina State. With a roster of 42 players, the 2018 team is by far one of the largest rosters this program has seen in recent years. Last year, the Deacs fell to the Wolfpack in a tough 13-7 loss in Raleigh. However this year, the Deacs came out with vengeance on a beautiful Saturday to play lacrosse, eager to achieve big home victory in front of an energetic crowd to help set the tone for the rest of the season.
The Deacs struck first in the first quarter, with a huge goal by senior defenseman Brett DerGarabedian. However, the first half was very close. The Wolfpack tied the game up 3-3 late in the half, but Senior Captain Mac Hanson put the Deacs back up by one with less than five seconds left in the half. Putting the Deacs up 4-3, this re-energized and fired up the team leading into halftime.
The third quarter proved to be close again, but in the fourth quarter, the Deacs pulled away and secured an impressive 8-5 victory. Freshman midfielder Jeffrey Guiliano was the team’s leading scorer with two goals. Junior attackman Alex Igliozzi, sophomore midfielder Ryder Macdougall, freshman attackman Pinson Neal, and freshman attackman Ryan Cox also each contributed scores, all with assists from junior midfielder Jordan Earlywine, freshman attackman Evan Ellwanger, Cox, and Neal.
Next weekend, the Demon Deacons will be making the four hour trip south to Charleston, South Carolina to take on College of Charleston on Saturday and Coastal Carolina on Sunday.
Senior Captain Mac Hanson had this to say about the big win and the road trip “It was a huge win to start the season against NC State. We had not beaten them in the four years I have been involved with the team, so this was a game that shows how far we have come as a program. We are traveling to Charleston this weekend to play College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina. It will be a good opportunity for the team to bond over an away weekend trip, and to face quality competition.”
The Wake Forest Men’s Lacrosse team is looking forward to a productive week of practice and hopes come out 3-0 after next weekend.