The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) men’s lacrosse team lost to Cleveland State University on Mar. 28, with a final score of 20-7 at Drill Field 2 in Lexington, Virginia.
The game was significant as VMI attempted to recover from a halftime deficit but was unable to overcome the visiting Vikings’ strong performance. The Keydets started quickly with an early goal by Jack Duncan-Bloom just 29 seconds into the match. However, Cleveland State responded with three consecutive goals and maintained control for the rest of the game.
Cleveland State steadily increased their lead by scoring five goals in each period. By the end of the third quarter, they led VMI 15-7 and then held VMI scoreless in the fourth quarter. The Vikings won more face-offs than VMI (17-14), forced 24 turnovers, and limited VMI’s clearing success to just over seventy percent. They also outshot VMI by a wide margin (48-25) and capitalized on man-up opportunities after six penalties against VMI led to over five minutes of extra-man play.
Brennen Hickey led Cleveland State with four goals and one assist on eight shots, while four other teammates scored two goals each. For VMI, Beau Durkin achieved a hat trick, and Jack Duncan-Bloom, Theo Ley, Ethan Ostrowski, and Dayton Bagwell each contributed one goal.
Looking ahead, the Keydets will remain at home for their next matchup against Robert Morris University next Saturday at noon on Drill Field 2.
