The Oglethorpe men's lacrosse team wound down its spring break trip to Irving, Texas, Thursday afternoon, falling to Wabash 20-6 on a rainy day at Crusader Field on the campus of the University of Dallas. The defeat dropped the Stormy Petrels to 0-8 on the season.

The Little Giants jumped out to a big lead early on over the Petrels, outscoring Oglethorpe 8-1 in both the first and second quarters. The Petrels did get goals from freshman midfielder Nathaniel Gillespie with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter and from freshman midfielder Thomas O'Berry, off an assist from Gillespie, with 11 minutes left in the second quarter, but they found themselves behind 16-2 headed into the halftime break.

The Petrels ramped up their defense in the second half, and freshman goalie Lane Edwards played very well over the final two quarters, totaling 14 saves during the final 30 minutes of the game. Gillespie scored again with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter, but Oglethorpe trailed 19-3 after 45 minutes.

The Petrels came back well in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Little Giants 3-1. Freshman midfielder Jorge Arce scored with 13:24 left off an assist from Gillespie. O'Berry followed less than two minutes later off an assist from freshman midfielder Tyler Stridiron, and Stridiron scored a goal of his own with 8:13 left. Wabash built too big of a lead in the first half, though, and they secured the 20-6 victory.

Gillespie and O'Berry finished the game with two goals apiece, while Gillespie tallied a couple of assists, as well. Senior defenseman Andrew Kwapil led the team with six ground balls, while O'Berry and Arce recorded five apiece. Edwards finished with 22 saves, his season-high.

Wabash outshot the Petrels 62-21 for the game, scooped 70 ground balls to the Petrels' 30, and committed 22 turnovers to Oglethorpe's 36. The Petrels were successful on 27 of 36 clear attempts. 

"This spring break trip did not go our way," said Oglethorpe head coach Nathan Young. "We were competitive in our first two games of the trip, but Wabash jumped on us a bit coming out of the gate today. We'll learn from this trip and come back ready to play on Tuesday."

The Petrels return home on Tuesday to take on Calvin at 7 p.m. at the Oglethorpe Track and Field. After that, they'll head back out on the road for three consecutive SAA conference games against Sewanee, Rhodes and Hendrix.