The shorthanded Oglethorpe men's lacrosse team dropped the opener of its Southern Athletic Association season Wednesday evening to the in-state rival Berry Vikings on the Oglethorpe Track and Field, falling 18-1. The result dropped the Stormy Petrels to 0-5 on the season.

The Petrels played with just 10 players the whole night due to injuries, and were unable to keep up with Berry, who fielded 26 players in the contest. The Vikings took an 8-0 lead after the first quarter, but the Oglethorpe defense did buckle down in the second, allowing just a single Berry goal. The Vikings came back with seven more in the third, but the Petrel defense again stood tall in the fourth, allowing two Berry tallies. In addition, Oglethorpe got a goal to break up the shutout with 4:06 remaining in the game. 

Sophomore attackman John Hood led the Petrels in shots with four, putting a pair of them on cage. Freshman defender Andrew Kwapil had the best night of any Petrel, causing six turnovers and scooping five ground balls over the course of the game. Freshman goalie Lane Edwards recorded 10 saves on the evening. 

As a team, the Petrels were successful on 11 of 17 clear attempts, though Berry was 20 for 20, and forced 18 Viking turnovers while committing 20 of their own. The Petrels won just 4 of 23 faceoff attempts, however, and scooped 17 ground balls to Berry's 46. Berry outshot Oglethorpe 39-11, overall, though Edwards' 10 saves was more than the seven combined that Berry's two goalies accrued. 

"We were once again shorthanded," said Oglethorpe head coach Nathan Young, "but I was proud of how the guys that were on the field battled tonight. It's tough not having any substitutions available, but I thought our guys handled it as well as can be expected. We'll look to get some guys back from injury going into our spring break trip next week, and I think the week will be a good experience for us."

The Petrels will head to Irving, Texas, for spring break Monday through Thursday. They'll go against Franciscan Monday at 2 p.m. Eastern, take on host Dallas at 2 p.m. Eastern Tuesday, and finish their stay in north Texas in another neutral site game against Wabash Thursday at 2 p.m. Eastern.