ALMA, Mich. – The Alma College men's lacrosse team hosted their long-awaited home opener for the 2025 season on Wednesday, March 5th, as Heidelberg University came to town for an afternoon contest. The Scots continued their winning streak to six as they held off the Student Princes by a final score of 10-8.
Alma opened the scoring for the affair a minute in as Dylan Smith found the back of the net to give Alma the first lead. Heidelberg responded in the final minute of the quarter with a goal of their own on a man-up opportunity, bringing the score to 1-1 at the end of the first. MJ Humphreys would break the tie just a minute into the second as Cole Pearson set him up for the score. Again, the Student Princes fought back to tie the game with a goal a minute later, making the game 2-2. The Scots found their offense and continued pressure scoring the next four goals before the half. Humphreys tallied the first of four with 11 minutes left in the half, followed by Smith scoring the next two, both assisted by Kevin Koenn. Cole Pearson tallied the final goal of the half with another assist coming from Koenn, with just over two minutes left in 6-2 lead.
The Scots again opened the scoring of the half as Humphreys netted his third of the game two and a half minutes into the third, increasing the lead to five. Heidelberg come out of the half with adjustments for their offense, as pressure was applied, resulting in three consecutive goals by the Student Princes before an Alma answer. With the game 7-5 in favor of the Scots, Humphreys again found a way to the net to score, putting Alma back up three with five minutes left in the quarter. Pearson closed out the quarter in the final seconds with a goal as he came racing down the field, finding the back of the net and putting Alma up four heading into the final frame. Heidelberg cut the Scots lead back to three two minutes into the fourth, the only goal for a seven-minute span. Alma would score their first and only of the quarter from a Koenn shot with a Brayden VanderKamp assist, putting Al a up 10-6. The Student Princes would net a goal just a minute later to pull within three, but their final goal wouldn't come until the two minute mark, still trailing by two. In the final minutes of the game, Alma would control possession and run the clock down, securing their sixth consecutive win and staying unbeaten in non-conference play.
Koenn and Humphreys both tied for the team lead in points with four with Koenn having three assists and a goal and Humphreys tallying four goals. Smith had a game-high seven ground balls while Connor Cracium had a game-high four caused turnovers to lead the Scots defensively. Smith also went 14-21 at the faceoff dot. Preston Stelljes played the full 60 for the Scots making 11 stops and recording the win.
Alma will return to play on Bahlke Field this Sunday, March 9th, as they will face Marian University (WI). First faceoff is set for a 12:00 PM start.
