The men’s lacrosse team closed out their non-conference portion of the season with a game against Utica College Saturday afternoon at Schmidt Stadium. The Colonels lost to the visiting Pioneers 18-13 and fell to 4-5 on the season.

The first quarter was a back and forth affair, with multiple lead changes from both sides.

Wilkes was leading 3-2, after junior midfielder Jacob Kudysch scored off a slick pass from senior midfielder Ethan Weaver. The play resulted in Weaver earning his 100th career point.

“It felt really great to reach that milestone,” said Weaver. “It just feels good to be around great teammates that are able to elevate me and help me get to the hundredth point.”

Weaver was tied for the team lead in points, as he racked up two goals and three assists to help generate the Colonels offense.

Utica quickly responded with three goals to take a 5-4 lead after the period. Wilkes used three consecutive goals of their own to get ahead 7-5.

With the score tied at eight and just a few minutes remaining in the half, it seemed as if the game was going to come down to whomever got the ball last.

However, Utica rattled off four straight goals spanning over the second and third quarter, taking control of the game.

The Pioneers used their physicality to gain possession and capitalized on a couple of mental lapses from the Colonels.

“They just won the faceoff battle,” said senior midfielder Alex Meyers. “That was the determining factor. We tied them on ground balls. They just got more possessions and were able to score more by running a better offense.”

Meyers tied Weaver on the day with a team-high five points, with two goals and three assists of his own.

The two goals moved Meyers into second on the team, with 17 of them throughout just nine games.

Despite trailing by as many as five goals, the Colonels did not give up.

Three straight goals to start the fourth quarter pulled Wilkes within a pair with just over seven minutes remaining.

Utica was able to refocus and score a goal just a minute later that seemed to ice the game.

The goal appeared to take the wind out of the Colonels and the Pioneers chipped in two more goals to put the game completely out of reach.

“We can’t take one ground ball for granted,” said head coach Curtis Jaques. “When it comes down to a tight game like that, every single ground ball matters. We can’t take one possession for granted.”