RICHMOND, Ind. – The Alma College men's lacrosse team hit the road to open their 2025 season after a cancelation last week pushed their starting date to Wednesday, February 12th, at Earlham College. The Scots were able to take control wire-to-wire as they held the Quakers to only two goals in an 8-2 victory in Indiana.
The Scots jumped out to a lead in the first five minutes as Ayden Hibdon scored the first Scots goal of the 2025 campaign on a pass from Kevin Koenn to open the scoring. After both teams went stagnant for the remainder of the first quarter, Lucas Storm opened the scoring in the second, two minutes in unassisted. Just over three minutes later, Dylan Smith netted another goal for the Scots on another Koenn assist, putting Alma up 3-0. In the homestretch of the first half, while man down, Storm was able to find an offensive chance and find the twine for his second of the game, putting Alma on top 4-0 heading into the break.
After tallying two assists in the first half, Koenn opened up the second half with a goal of his own just 20 seconds in, giving the Scots their fifth of the game. Following a scoreless half, the Quakers were able to make some halftime adjustments and found the back of Alma's net twice consecutively in the middle of the third quarter, cutting the Scots lead down to three. From the beginning of the fourth, until the end, Alma kept Earlham in check and off the scoreboard, while adding to their total. Just 12 seconds into the fourth quarter, following a faceoff, Jacob Kluk stormed down the field and found the back of the net as a defender, putting Alma back on top by four on an assist by MJ Humphreys. Cole Pearson tallied his first of the season with three minutes left in the game, while Humphreys also scored his first of the year in the final two minutes, giving Alma an 8-2 win on the season opener.
Koenn led the Scots with three points on one goal, two assists. Six other Scots tallied a point in the opening contest as well. Humpreys and Storm led Alma in ground balls with nine and eight, respectively. Patrick Hodges held the defense down with a game-high five caused turnovers. Preston Stelljes got the nod in net, saving seven in his first career collegiate win.
Alma will hit the road again for the next game on February 22nd, as they travel back to Indiana to face off against Anderson University. Start time for the Saturday game is set for 2:00 PM.
