Hanover, IN  (Alumni Stadium) - The Hanover College Men's Lacrosse team opened their 2025 season at home today in a cold and rainy afternoon contest against the Little Giants of Wabash College. The Panthers were entered today's match-up with All-HCAC returners Colin O'Brien (junior), Owen Parker (senior), and Scott Dues (senior) leading the charge.

The first quarter of action got off to an incredibly physical start and saw the Panthers take an early lead in the first minute and a half as senior midfielder Owen Parker found his running mate and senior midfielder Owen Cuniffe for a goal on the back side. The HC sideline erupted with energy giving them an early edge.

Hanover kept momentum rolling by responding to Wabash's first goal with one of their own just minutes later when Owen Cuniffe and Owen Parker showed off their four-year chemistry again, only this time it was Cuniffe returning the favor and finding Parker for the shot and goal. HC lead 2-1 after the first seven minutes of play.

Two more minutes went by before Wabash tied things up at 2-2. Then after another two minutes junior attackman Ethan Abdoo went to the cage unassisted and cashed in on his individual effort, giving the Panthers the lead once more at 3-2. The Little Giants stayed poised and found a way to tie things up just before the quater's end though, making it 3-3 going into the second.

Wabash came out hot to start the second quarter, putting in three straight goals including a man-up. As tensions and tempers began to rise, so did the physicality between the lines. This lead to a man-up opportunity for the Panthers, and freshman midfielder Kasey Hospelhorn would bury his first career goal and give a breath of relief to the boys in white.

Hanover then played five minutes of tough defense led by junior goalkeeper Matthew Hillard in his first career start and senior defender Scott Dues and saw a few opportunities on offense that ultimately ended empty. However in the final minute of the first half, junior attackman Colin O'Brien would score on back to back possessions, unassisted. This tied the game at 6-6 with only thirty-five seconds to go. Wabash again would not go quietly and found a way to go up 7-6 just before the half.

To open the second half the Little Giants came up with just a bit more juice left in the tank thanks to their depth in the first half and scored two goals back-to-back. The Panthers once again rallied and responded behind freshman midfielder Kasey Hospelhorn who scored back-to-back goals, the first of which was by senior defender Scott Dues, bringing the score within one at 8-9 and marking Hospelhorn's first career hat-trick.

Wabash then put together a 5-0 run between the end of the third and the start of the fourth that ultimately went on to decide the game. The Panthers were able to stop the bleeding behind Kasey Hospelhorn's fourth goal of the contest, to which Wabash responded with three more, going up 17-9.

Hanover exhausted everything the had left in them trying to bring the game back nearing the end, lead by senior midfielder Owen Parker who scored on three straight possessions for his second, third, and fourth of the day - assisted twice by senior attackman Alex Kleinhelter and freshman midfielder Kasey Hospelhorn.

HC went on to fall 12-17 in their home opener against their in-state rival. The Panthers have a quick turnaround however as they take to the road Monday evening to take on the Quakers of Wilmington College in Wilmington, OH. The first face off is set for 7:00PM EST.

Statistical Standouts from today's contest include:
Kasey Hospelhorn (Fr. | MF) - 4 Goals | 1 Ast | 5 Tot Pts | 4 GB
Scott Dues (Sr. | D) - 1 Ast | 4 GB | 3 CTO
Owen Parker (Sr. | MF) - 4 Goals | 2 Ast | 6 Tot Pts | 8 GB
Matthew Hillard (Jr. | GK) - 11 Saves