ROSEMONT, PA-- The Highlanders reached a significant milestone in their young program's history and took the field against a live opponent for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.

Led by second-year head coach Vincent Culpepper, the men's lacrosse program has been building towards a competitive season since 2019, when Culpepper was hired to build the program from the ground up. Despite all the challenges created by starting a new athletics program during a global pandemic, the men's lacrosse program grew to 14 players in its first year and has been anxious to get on the field and see live action. With the opening faceoff on Wednesday afternoon at Rosemont, the Highlanders officially have their first game under their belts and can continue to build their program.

Cairn was shorthanded for their first matchup against the Ravens due to injury and COVID protocols, but that fact didn't keep the Highlanders from playing hard. Despite going down 9-0 in the first quarter, the Highlanders battled back, and midfielder Andrew Joinville became the first Highlander to score goal in program history seven minutes into the second quarter. He was joined by teammates Jonathan Balsamo and Charles Cotton, who scored in the third and fourth quarters respectively to give the Highlanders their three goals for the game. Ultimately, the Highlanders fell 22-3 to the more-experienced Ravens squad.

Both Balsamo and Cotton led the Highlanders with 3 shots on goal each. Sophomore goalkeeper Harrison Clark had an impressive 19 saves in his first outing in a Highlander uniform.

The Highlanders will look to build on the positives from this first matchup when they face Mercer County Community College in a scrimmage on Saturday (4/10) at 12 PM.