Wabash overcame and early 6-1 deficit to Cornell College in its lacrosse home opener Wednesday afternoon. The Little Giants took a late lead only to see the visiting Rams rally for a 17-16 victory.
 
Tucker Dixon scored the first goal for Wabash with 4:45 remaining in the first period as both team's goalkeepers ---Max Atkins for Wabash and Cornell netminder Ben Totman --- turned in multiple saves to hold the game scoreless. The Rams (4-2) scored with two minutes remaining in the opening period and proceeded to score six unanswered goals overall to move in front.
 
Steven Stark, Dixon, and Collin Brennan brought Wabash back, scoring three consecutive goals to trim the advantage to two goals in the second period. Dixon and Stark finished with four goals apiece, while Brennan struck the back of the net three times.
 
Wabash continued to chase the visitors until the midway point of the fourth period. Andrew Weiland took a pass from Brennan and fired home his second goal of the game to five the Little Giants the lead once again. Two minutes later Dajon Thomas added his second goal for a 16-15 Wabash lead with just over five minutes remaining.
 
Cornell responded with the game-tying goal less than a minute later to even the match at 16-16. The Rams notched the goal-ahead goal with 4:37 left to play, leaving the Little Giants a chance to claim the victory. But Wabash was unable to penetrate the Cornell defense in the closing minutes, ending the contest with a one-goal loss to fall to 3-3 for the season.
 
Brennan tallied four assists to go with his three goals for a total of seven points in the contest. Stark handed out two assists for a six-point night. Atkins made several spectacular saves as part of 15 overall stops in the contest. Wabash was outshot by the Rams 52-to-37 overall. Cornell put 32 shots on goal compared to 26 for the Little Giants. Billy Bernhardt led Wabash with eight ground balls.
 
The Little Giants open North Coast Athletic Conference play on the road Saturday against the College of Wooster. The opening faceoff is at 1 p.m.