The members of the Colby men’s lacrosse team started the 2012 season with heavy hearts as they traveled to Amherst College to take on the fifth-ranked Lord Jeffs. The entire Colby community suffered a tremendous loss when junior midfielder Derrik Flahive passed away in a drowning accident in Chile this past November. The Mules and Amherst took a moment of silence in memory of Flahive before Saturday’s game.

Colby, which is now 0-1 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), lost in overtime at home to Amherst in the 2011 season, but lead the fifth-ranked Jeffs by a 7-4 score at halftime in this recent contest. The Lord Jeffs’ defense came back strong in the second half and allowed just one goal, resulting in a 9-8 come-from-behind win over the Mules in the season opener for both teams.

Amherst’s Evan Redwood’s third goal of the day broke an 8-8 tie with 1:47 remaining in regulation, resulting in the game-winner for the Lord Jeffs. Colby called a timeout with 22 seconds to play and made one last play up the field, but Lord Jeff junior Danny Gold forced a turnover behind the net and brought the ball downfield.

Amherst had the first goal of the match at 3:31, but the Mules responded quickly and came out strong with three goals in a span of 3:20 from Ian Deveau ’13, Scott Margolis ’12 and co-captain Johnathan McIvor ’12. After a timeout, Redwood got one back for the Lord Jeffs, but Colby retaliated again when co-captain Greg McKillop ’13 converted a ground ball into a goal with only 11 seconds on the clock, pushing the lead to 4-2.

Colby also scored in the final seconds of the second quarter, as Deveau converted a pass from Bjorn Knutson ’13 and beat Amherst goalie Sam Jakimo, giving the Mules a respectable 7-4 lead at the half. Deveau’s goal came after Amherst failed to capitalize on a man-up opportunity, giving the Mules significant momentum heading into the second half.

Jakimo and the Amherst defense stepped up in the second half, allowing only one goal for Mules while the Jeffs slowly chipped away to tie the score. Alex Fox made it 7-5 in the third period, and Mathias followed two minutes later. The Mules killed a pair of penalties—including a two-minute infraction—late in the quarter to carry a 7-6 lead into the final frame.

Colby failed to score after a lengthy possession early in the fourth, which lead to Redwood’s tying goal with 10:21 on the clock. Cole Cherney found the back of the net at 6:38 giving the Jeffs the go-ahead goal in the final quarter, but Jennings converted a ground ball and put a shot past Jakimo to make it an 8-8 game with 4:04 to go. Redwood’s winning goal came minutes later, setting the final score at 9-8 for the Jeffs.

Second-year head coach Justin Domingos had nothing but positive things to say after the game: “We came out and had a great first half. The effort from our entire team from the starters to the guys cheering from the bench was there all day and that will be key going forward.” The teams were nearly identical in every major statistical category. Colby won 11 face-off’s to Amherst’s 10, while Amherst held slim advantages in shots (31-28) and ground balls (28-25). The Mules committed 16 turnovers, with the Lord Jeffs close behind at 14.

McKillop and Deveau had two goals apiece for the Mules, who received nine saves from sophomore goalie Pete Reiley. McIvor and Jennings ’13 both had one goal and one assist on the day, while Knutson went 11-21 on face-offs, had one assist, eight ground balls and one caused turnover for Colby. Trevor Shorb ’14 also added a goal for the Mules.

“The turning point in the game was the third quarter when we uncharacteristically turned the ball over and allowed the momentum to swing back to Amherst,” said Domingos. “I thought overall for the first game of the year we played hard and did some nice things. The challenge now is to build on the good play we had on Saturday, learn from our mistakes, and keep improving on our detail oriented style of playing lacrosse”.

Colby will play its home opener this Saturday at noon against Hamilton College.