Taylor’s lacrosse season comes to a historic end with a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament quarterfinal win in the first home playoff game in program history.
“I mean, it’s huge,” sophomore midfielder Henry Cooper said. “It meant a lot to us and especially the seniors. They were here when the culture wasn’t as good and I think what our team has become is a true testament to the time and the effort that they have put into this team.”
Taylor hosted Michigan-Dearborn for the quarterfinal matchup in the WHAC tournament. The game was chippy and emotions were high from the first faceoff. These teams had faced each other twice earlier in the season, both earning one victory each.
Sophomore attackman Jude Wood kicked off the scoring for the purple and gray with two quick strikes at the 10-minute mark and the eight-minute mark to put the Trojans up 2-0. It wouldn’t be until there was 1:47 left in the first quarter that Dearborn would break onto the scoreboard.
The Wolverines kicked off the scoring in the second quarter to even the scoreboard at two. Sophomore attackman AJ Harris responded with two goals of his own, one unassisted and one off a dish from Cooper to put the Trojans back on top 4-2 with 12:32 left in the second quarter. Dearborn answered quickly, bringing the score within one point, then the Trojans ran away with it.
Taylor rattled off four unanswered goals before the Wolverines were able to answer back with one goal of their own, making the score 8-4. Junior midfielder Grant Elzinga closed out the half with an unassisted goal to put Taylor firmly in the lead 9-4.
Junior attackman Will Saxby opened the second half with a quick goal 21 seconds into the third quarter, was assisted by junior attackman Jackson Dale. Cooper scored the next two, strengthening the Trojans’ lead to 12-4. Michigan-Dearborn scored two times making it 12-6 before Cooper scored his fourth goal of the game, ending the third quarter with the purple and gray on top, 13-6.
In the final seconds of the third quarter, Saxby made incidental contact with Michigan Dearborn’s goalie and appeared to stand over him afterwards. Vincenzo Soares, a senior defenseman for the Wolverines, took offense to this and crosschecked Saxby. This prompted both teams to get into a scuffle and resulted in two penalties on both squads.
“It’s hard to throw checks at each other as hard as you can, hit each other as hard as you can, and compete as hard as you can and then seconds later go back to being friends,” senior defenseman Xander Bateman said. “I see the goalie shove Will (Saxby) off and then I just see number 20 (Soares) come in and blow Will up. There was zero time for instigation; he just started swinging on him.”
Soares was ejected from the game for fighting. Dearborn freshman midfielder Charlie Woodcock earned a 30-second penalty for pushing. On the Taylor side, Saxby and Dale both earned a one-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Trojans would go on to score three more goals in a row to Dearborn’s one in the final quarter to end the game with a 16-7 victory. With the win, Taylor picked up its first ever WHAC tournament victory.
Taylor went on to play No. 1 Madonna in the semifinals, where their season came to an end after a crushing 33-8 defeat. Despite the loss, it was still Taylor’s most successful season as a program, securing the most wins in program history in addition to the playoff victory.
“My legacy to the team is what I hope I passed down,” Bateman said. “The seniors when I came in were highly influential and taught me a lot. When I think of what I want my legacy to be, I want to be known as someone that made those that came after me, better than me.”
As seniors Lucas Pacer and Xander Bateman are the only players to leave the program at season’s end, the Trojans are set up for another historic season in 2027.
