CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — The Wabash College men's lacrosse team opened the 2026 season with a decisive 14-4 home victory over Hanover College on Tuesday afternoon at Fischer Field, delivering the first career win for first-year head coach Nate Webber.

Wabash College (1-0) used a balanced offensive attack, a dominant second quarter, and control of possession to pull away from Hanover College (0-1). The Little Giants outshot Hanover 61-29, forced 27 turnovers, and converted 13 of 21 faceoffs to dictate the pace throughout the afternoon.

Wabash scored three goals in the opening quarter and then broke the game open with a seven-goal second period to take a 10-2 halftime lead. The Little Giants finished the contest with nine unanswered goals spanning the final 11:06 of the first half and the opening 6:10 of the third quarter.

Austin Clark and Evan Bair led a deep Wabash scoring group with two goals apiece. Bair added two assists for a four-point afternoon, while Christian Dybedock also produced four points with one goal and three assists. Will Sorg finished with two goals and an assist, Jake Pippen and Zach McMichael each scored twice, and Sam Santiago, Luca Flaim, and Grayson McCallum added goals as well.

Clark opened the scoring just 46 seconds into the game, finishing a feed from Sorg. Hanover answered with a man-up goal by Mack Langridge and an even-strength tally from Jack Deweese to briefly knot the score at 2-2. Wabash responded with goals from McMichael and Sorg in the final 6:10 of the quarter to regain the lead.

The second quarter belonged entirely to the Little Giants. Santiago, Pippen (twice), McCallum, Bair, Sorg, and Flaim all found the net as Wabash stretched its advantage to 10-2. Bair's goal at the 6:16 mark came on a man-up opportunity, one of two extra-man scores for the Little Giants on five chances.

Wabash continued to press after halftime, scoring twice in a 22-second span early in the third quarter on goals by Bair and Clark to extend the margin to 12-2. Hanover broke the run with an unassisted goal by Kasey Hospelhorn at 4:31 of the third, but Wabash maintained control the rest of the way.

Dybedock and McMichael added fourth-quarter goals, with McMichael's final tally coming on a man-up opportunity with 1:50 remaining.

Defensively, Wabash held Hanover to just 16 shots on goal while forcing double-digit caused turnovers. The Little Giants committed only 10 turnovers for the game and were perfect on clears, going 15-for-15 compared to Hanover's 21-for-30 effort.

Goalkeeper Colin Krekeler earned the win in his first start of the season, making 12 saves while allowing four goals over 60 minutes. Hanover goalkeeper Mathew Hillard finished with 23 saves despite facing 61 shots.

Hanover was led offensively by Hospelhorn, who finished with a goal and an assist, while Langridge, Deweese, and Cole Skinner each scored once.

Wabash returns to action on Saturday with another home contest, welcoming Muskingum University for a noon start at Fischer Field.