This spring, Northern Review sports editor Grant Pepper will be following the Ohio Northern men’s lacrosse team as they enter their third year of competition. After finishing seventh in the OAC in year one and fifth in year two, the Polar Bears are looking to contend for their first conference crown in 2018.
ONU has gotten off to a hot start this season, winning five of its first six games. They beat NCAC powerhouse Kenyon in the first week of play, which was arguably the program’s biggest win to date. Junior goalkeeper Alex Pizarro was named OAC Defensive Player of the Week last week and sophomore Cameron Marous was named OAC Offensive Player of the Week in late February.
The Polar Bears have two non-conference games left until OAC play begins, when ONU will host Mount Union on March 30. ONU was one win away from qualifying for the conference tournament last year, which takes the top four teams from the regular season. While OAC coaches picked Northern to finish fourth in the conference this year, head coach Nat St. Laurent has different plans.
“I think that everybody’s saying next year is kind of our year,” St. Laurent said. “I think this is our year. I think if we can get in [to the conference tournament], we can win it.”
Here is episode one of this developing series: