Ursinus Men’s lacrosse has ultimately disappointed this season, finishing their second-to-last game of the season Wednesday with yet another conference loss. They are currently 4-10 with one game left in their season.
The Bears have gotten wins this season against DeSales, Illinois Wesleyan, Washington College, and Haverford. They have a conference record of 2-5, and are currently ranked 7th in the Centennial. Ursinus went unranked nationally this season. The Bears played and lost to four ranked teams, #2 RIT, #9 Gettysburg, #17 Dickinson, and #18 Swarthmore. The Bears have one game left in the regular season. They are set to face an unranked McDaniel team on April 26th.
“We’re focusing on finishing strong and playing our brand of lacrosse every chance we get to step on the field. We want to play for our seniors and compete for a chance to play in the playoffs, even if they are not guaranteed,” Danny Rice, ‘28 commented.
Ursinus took this mindset into a tough matchup against Gettysburg this past Tuesday. The Bears put up a good fight, but it ended in yet another Ursinus loss, with a final score of 20-10. It was emblematic of the Bears’ season, a solid offensive night marred by their struggles defensively.
Despite the Bears’ struggles, they still were able to find some highlights statistically. The most goals the Bears scored in a quarter was three goals. Harry Sweitzer, ‘26 had four goals in the game, the highest number from a player. Sweitzer had goals in three out of the four quarters. Chris Pucciarelli, ‘25 received his 100th career point. Pucciarelli also finished 12th in assists per game in the Centennial Conference, closing out a stellar career.
Although their record was not what the Bears had hoped, there were players, such as Danny Rice ‘28 and Sweitzer, who had significant success. Danny Rice has had a fantastic first college season. The first-year from Ashburn, Virginia has scored 11 goals with three assists. He has started eight of the 11 games he played. About the tough season, Danny stated, “At the start, there was a lot of excitement and enjoyment. As the season progressed and we faced some adversity, the mentality shifted to resilience. We want to show up everyday and push each other to be the best players we can be, regardless of record.”
Harry Sweitzer made a strong impression his first two years. The junior from Hatfield, Pennsylvania played in all 15 games, had 38 shots and picked up seven ground balls in his sophomore season. As a sophomore, Sweitzer was named an All-Centennial Honorable Mention. He tied the team lead with 23 goals off of 85 shots. This season, Sweitzer has been just as impactful. He has scored 29 goals with six assists. He has picked up 18 ground balls.
The bright future for these two showed in the team’s recent game against Muhlenberg. Sweitzer finished with four goals, two assists, and one ground ball. Rice had one goal, one assist, and one ground ball.
Rice said, “This season taught us how important the little things are. We have started to enjoy the process and the details that it takes to be a competitive team in this conference. In the offseason, we’re taking that lesson into everything and work even harder to improve every aspect of our game.”