By John Syms, Staff Writer
Originally Published April 9, 2024
The Saint Vincent College (SVC) men’s lacrosse team played their first regular season Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) match on March 27 against Franciscan University, winning with a score of 13 to 8.
The Bearcats were ranked second in the PAC preseason poll, behind the defending champions, Grove City. The Wolverines won the conference title four times in row, and they have a shot at winning their fifth straight championship. As of April 1, Grove City has played against two PAC schools, Bethany College and Thiel College, and defeated them both with a combined score of 26-1.
Last year, SVC competed against Grove City in the PAC title match and lost to the Wolverines with a score of 27-3. The previous year, the Bearcats lost to them in the conference championship match with a score of 17-4.
It has been a rough start for the Bearcats, losing their first six games of the 2024 season. SVC lost against teams from both the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). However, on March 20, SVC captured their first win of the season against Marietta College, with a score of 11-4. They have since beat Lebanon Valley, and secured their first PAC win of the season against Franciscan on Wednesday, March 27.
Jordan Billet, criminology graduate student, led the way for the teams win first win at Marietta, by scoring two goals and recording two assists. Billet believes that the team has a chance at winning the PAC title this season, despite the rough start.
“The record of our team does not show how good we truly are. We have a lot of first-time starters this year, mixed with a very difficult out-of-conference schedule,” Billet said. “I personally feel the best about this 0-6 team than I have felt about any of our previous seasons, and this team is battle tested, gritty, and willing to work hard to achieve goals we’ve set for ourselves.”
During the 2023 season, Billet scored 38 goals and had 32 assists, and played in 17 games. He is 22 assists away from recording 100 career assists and was additionally named to the All-PAC First Team in the 2022 and 2023 season. Even with a 1-6 record as of March 22, Billet believes that the lacrosse season is going great.
“This season so far is going well, on paper it may not seem so, but I have never been a part of a more hungry and motivated team than this. The winning started yesterday and should not stop for the rest of the year. I promise we will be back in the PAC championship, and there is nothing more that this team wants than a PAC title.”
From March 27 to April 27, SVC will only be competing against schools from the PAC. The men’s lacrosse team will play four home games and three away games for the rest of the season until the conference tournament, where six teams will compete for the title.
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