DUBUQUE, IA – The Beloit College men's lacrosse team faced a formidable University of Dubuque squad on the road Wednesday evening, ultimately falling 18-4 at Oyen Field. The loss moves the Buccaneers' record to 4-9 overall and 1-8 in conference play.
Despite the tough outcome, the Buccaneers saw offensive contributions from several players. Will Palmer (Downers Grove, Ill.) led the Beloit attack, factoring into three of the team's four goals. Palmer found the net twice himself and added an assist for a team-high three points.
Palmer got Beloit on the board first, scoring unassisted at the 8:41 mark of the first quarter, briefly cutting Dubuque's early lead to 4-1.
After being held scoreless in the second quarter, Beloit added two goals in the third. Palmer struck again unassisted with 6:25 left in the period, followed shortly by Liam Walker's (Elmhurst, Ill.) unassisted goal at the 5:15 mark, making the score 15-3 at that point.
John Imbriale (Brooklyn, NY) capped the scoring for the Buccaneers in the fourth quarter, converting a feed from Palmer with 5:55 remaining in the game.
While the offense generated 21 shots, with 13 on goal, Beloit faced consistent pressure from the host Spartans (8-6, 7-2), who registered 64 shots in the contest.
In goal for Beloit, Eric Seo (Woodridge, Ill.) started and played the first three quarters (45:00 minutes), making 11 saves while facing a high volume of attempts. Christian Moore (Dubuque, Iowa) played the final quarter (15:00 minutes) and recorded 5 saves.
Junior Samuel Van Der Kolk (Grand Haven, Mich.) handled the bulk of the face-off duties, winning 8 draws throughout the evening. Seo led the team in ground balls with 6, while Samuel Slabaugh (Lexington, Ky.) was active defensively, credited with 3 caused turnovers.
However, Dubuque controlled possession for significant stretches, holding advantages in ground balls (44-17) and face-offs (19-8). Beloit also struggled with turnovers, committing 31, and faced challenges in clearing, succeeding on 18 of 31 attempts.
The Buccaneers return home to Strong Stadium for the final time this season on Saturday when they host the Raiders of MSOE. Game time is slated for 11 am. Saturday will also mark senior day, with the celebrations starting at 10:45.
