ALBION, Mich. – The Albion College men's lacrosse team lost a heartbreaker to Oberlin College on Saturday, Feb. 29, at Alumni Field. The Yeomen (2-0, 0-0) overcame a three-point deficit at halftime to defeat the Britons (3-2, 0-0), 12-11.

Freshman Sam Puzevic put the Britons on the board in the first minute of action on a fast-break play assisted by junior Caleb Kropp. Minutes later, freshman Eric Fraeyman found senior Scott Shepard who ripped a shot from the wing to build a 2-0 lead early. Shepard added another score towards the end of the first period to make it a 3-1 game. Oberlin responded by netting two goals separated by less than 30 seconds to tie things up at 3.

In the second quarter, Oberlin ended the scoreless drought, taking a 4-3 edge at the 11:23. The Britons then went on a 4-0 scoring tear highlighted by a fast-break where sophomore defender Joey Tatar found Sam Puzevic for the strike and a dagger by senior Jacob Swift that found the upper left corner. The scoring effort resulted in a 7-4 advantage for the Purple and Gold going into the half.

The Yeomen opened up scoring in the second half with a man-advantage goal by Tom Decker assisted by Max Cha. Conley would find the back of the net twice while Swift added another to maintain a three-goal cushion for the Britons. However, Oberlin snuck in one more goal in the waning seconds of the quarter to trail by a pair, 10-8 after three periods.

The desperate goal by Oberlin seemed to give the team momentum going into the final quarter as the Yeomen proceeded to score three unanswered goals in the first nine minutes to take an 11-10 lead. Down one, senior goalkeeper Trevor McManus stonewalled an Oberlin attacker to give the Britons another crack at tying the game up. On the clear, junior Collin Bowers dished the ball to Shepard for his fourth goal of the evening to tie everything up with 2:04 remaining.

Sophomore Fernando Robison won the following faceoff to give the Purple and Gold an opportunity to seal the deal. On the ensuing Albion possession, the Britons were unable to muster a shot on goal thus giving Oberlin one last crack at putting the game away. With 20 seconds left in regulation, Max Cha dodged and scored to lift the Yeomen over the Britons, 12 -11.

Oberlin outshot Albion 41-to-39 and was 19-of-26 in the clear compared to the Britons' 19-of-32. The Purple and Gold scored a goal on their sole man-up possession while the Yeomen went 1-for-5.

Shepard led the way in scoring for the Britons as he registered four goals on the afternoon. Puzevic recorded a hat-trick on just five shots, bringing his career shooting percentage to 51.5%. Swift and Conley both netted a pair while Bowers earned three assists. Defenders Kropp and Tatar combined for nine groundballs, six caused turnovers, and two assists. McManus grabbed 11 saves and three groundballs. Robison won 17-of-27 (63%) face-offs and brought in seven groundballs.

The Britons will be the away team for the next few weeks as they play seven-straight games on the road continuing through the beginning of Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association action. The Purple and Gold will commence its Spring Break trip in Indiana as they take on the Little Giants of Wabash College. Face-off is scheduled for Thursday, Mar. 5 at 4 p.m. EST in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

For the latest information on the team, follow @Albion_MLax on Twitter and Instagram. General athletics news can also be found @gobrits on Twitter, AlbionAthletics on Instagram and Albion College Athletics on Facebook.

Joe and Julie Serra have given a $5 million leadership gift to launch a fundraising initiative to make two dreams a reality at Albion College. The first is a newly expanded fitness and student activity facility at the site of the current Dow Recreation and Wellness Center. The second is a new or renovated competition facility for the volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball teams that currently call Kresge Gymnasium home.

The College is continuing to raise funds in support of both projects. To learn more, call 517/629-0446 or email advancement@albion.edu