OBERLIN, Ohio — The Wabash College lacrosse team closed the 2026 season Saturday afternoon with a 16-7 North Coast Athletic Conference road loss at conference co-leader Oberlin College at Knowlton Stadium.
The Little Giants finished the year 3-13 overall and 1-7 in NCAC play after facing an Oberlin squad that improved to 11-5 overall and 6-2 in conference action. Wabash battled back after an early deficit and received a three-goal performance from Jake Pippen, but the Yeomen's fast start and decisive edge in possession proved too much to overcome.
Oberlin struck quickly with back-to-back goals from Solomon Brennan at 14:18 and Cooper Zancosky at 13:45 of the opening quarter to grab a 2-0 lead.
Wabash answered at 12:51 when Pippen scored off an assist from Evan Bair to trim the margin to 2-1, but the Yeomen responded with five consecutive goals to take control of the contest.
Asher Friedman scored on a man-up opportunity at 9:34 off a feed from Jacob Starcke, followed by an even-strength goal from Andrew Rosa at 8:19. Brennan added a man-up goal at 7:20 off an assist from Rosa, Anders Burrows scored at 4:53 off a pass from Nicholas Cuda, and Rosa struck again unassisted with 1:45 left in the quarter to stretch the lead to 7-1.
Bair stopped the run by scoring unassisted with 37 seconds remaining in the first period to send Wabash into the second quarter trailing 7-2.
The Little Giants opened the second quarter with stronger possession and cut the deficit to four when Pippen scored again at 10:12 off an assist from Grayson McCallum to make it 7-3.
Oberlin answered with three straight goals before halftime. Brennan scored at 4:48 off an assist from Friedman, Rosa added another unassisted goal at 2:52, and Brennan completed the late surge with his fifth goal of the day at the 19-second mark to give the Yeomen a 10-3 lead at intermission.
The hosts pushed the advantage early in the third quarter with goals from Brennan at 14:20 and Starcke at 13:48 to extend the margin to 12-3.
Wabash responded with its best stretch of the afternoon. Pippen completed his hat trick on an extra-man goal at 5:14 off an assist from Christian Dybedock, and Will Sorg followed with an unassisted goal at 3:22 to trim the deficit to 12-5 entering the fourth quarter.
Any comeback hopes were erased quickly in the final period as Oberlin opened with four consecutive goals in just over three minutes. Joe Chai scored at 14:03, Starcke added another at 13:22, Jack Duffy scored off an assist from Ryan Murphy at 13:16, and Edward Totry capped the run at 11:50 to make it 16-5.
Wabash closed the season by scoring the final two goals of the match. Luca Flaim scored off Bair's second assist of the day with 2:16 remaining, and Sam Santiago followed with an unassisted goal 38 seconds later to account for the 16-7 final.
Pippen led Wabash with three goals on three shots, while Bair added one goal and two assists for a team-high three points while placing six of his seven shots on goal. Santiago, Sorg, and Flaim each scored once. Dybedock and McCallum each recorded assists.
Colin Krekeler played all 60 minutes in goal for the Little Giants and finished with 17 saves against 33 shots on goal from Oberlin. Logan Miltner won 6-of-13 faceoffs, while Eli Backus added three faceoff wins and three caused turnovers. Bryce Poling, Cam Fecht, and Backus each collected three ground balls.
Brennan paced Oberlin with five goals, while Rosa added three goals and one assist. Starcke scored twice and added an assist, and Friedman finished with one goal and three assists.
The Yeomen controlled the statistical categories, outshooting Wabash 48-27 and holding a 46-24 edge in ground balls. Oberlin also won the faceoff battle 17-10 and converted 2-of-4 extra-man opportunities. Wabash finished 1-of-8 with the man advantage and completed 16-of-27 clearing attempts compared to 19-of-22 for the Yeomen.
