The men's lacrosse club defeated UMass-Lowell 9-3 at home on Saturday for the first win in the club's four-year history. Despite accumulating so many losses over the years, the Judges were confident going into the game. Until warm-ups began, that is.

"I think we were optimistic before, but they did look pretty damn good in their warm-ups," captain Alex Hughes '06 said.

But once the game began, the Judges found that their initial confidence had not been misplaced. Brandeis broke the ice when Wes Chisholm '08 scored the first goal of the game and his collegiate career early in the first half. The Judges then scored four more goals in the first half to take a 5-2 lead into halftime.

In the second half, goalie Marc Kiredjian '05 limited UMass-Lowell to just one goal as part of a Brandeis defense which was "suffocatingly effective," according to Hughes. Seth Young '06 and his first-year defensive linemates Seth Warshaw and Sheldon Best prevented Umass-Lowell from gaining any offensive momentum throughout the game.

"[Lowell] had some good individual players and a good shooter, but they just couldn't do anything on our defense, which just blew them away," Hughes said. "They didn't have anyone who could beat our defensemen one on one, and that's how you make plays."

Hughes played a sensational game, scoring one goal while Evan List '08 and Pat Raymond '05 scored two goals each.

This game represents the first win since high school for everyone on the team. When time expired, the Judges erupted in celebration.

"I was thrilled, we all celebrated. It was awesome," Hughes said. "Me and Pat charged Marc and tackled him, and then we just had a big hugfest. It was great."

With this win, the Judges now feel they are headed in a new direction.

"I think this team has completely changed from my freshman year, when the majority of guys had never played before," Hughes said. "Now everyone has serious high school experience, and most of us are used to playing for winning teams. So our attitude has completely changed in the past three years."

The lacrosse club's next game is a rematch against Umass-Lowell, away on Friday.