GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin University men's lacrosse team opened the 2024 season with a 13-10 defeat to Davenport University on Tuesday at Zuidema Field.
 
The two teams traded goals back and forth throughout the first half, as Joshua Moyer (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) put Calvin (0-1) on the board four minutes into the game, but Davenport (1-0) answered with three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead before the Knights responded with goals from David Blackmon (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) and Jacob Bledsoe (Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills) with a man advantage to tie the game at 3-3 after the first quarter.
 
The teams continued to trade goals in the second period, with the Knights receiving tallies from Braden Carpenter (Noblesville, Ill./Noblesville), Bledsoe, Moyer and Thomas Smith (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./Grosse Pointe South) as the teams went into halftime tied 7-7.
 
The Panthers started to take control in the third quarter with a pair of early goals, and then added two more after Christian Coler (Ionia, N.Y./Honeyoye Falls-Lima) scored with 9:39 to play to lead the Knights 11-8 after three.
 
After a Davenport goal to start the fourth quarter, Moyer and Blackmon tried to start a Calvin rally to cut the deficit to 12-10 with under four minutes to play, but the Knights could get no closer and the Panthers added one more late goal to secure the win.
 
Both teams took advantage of their man-up opportunities, with Calvin finishing 5-9 while Davenport converted on three of its four chances.
 
Turnovers proved costly for the Knights as they finished the game with 25, including 10 in the third quarter.
 
Moyer finished with three goals to lead the Knights while Blackmon and Bledsoe each recorded two. Cole McKenney (Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills) finished with five assists for Calvin.
 
Nate Hanson (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) was 20-27 on face offs and finished with seven ground balls, while Coler led the Knights with 11 ground balls.
 
Corgan Schaumburg (Rockton, Ill./Honogegah) finished with 12 saves on 25 Davenport shots on goal.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "It was a great first test against a good team today," Calvin head men's lacrosse coach Dave Hoger said. "We competed really well for our first game. We have a lot to work on, but ultimately I thought we battled our tails off and took a step forward in our progress this season so I'm excited to get back to work tomorrow and get ready for Saturday."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's lacrosse returns to action on Saturday, February 17, when it travels to Edgewood for a game scheduled to start at 1:00 PM (CST).