Students at Wittenberg were graced with sunshine, sports and a whole lot of food this past Saturday at both the men’s and women’s lacrosse games held at Edwards-Maurer field.
Food trucks lined the parking lot near the HPER Center building at both the 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. games for a Food Truck Festival, which was publicized via fliers and emails throughout campus.
Head women’s lacrosse coach Nicholle St. Pierre hoped the event would provide “different food for the kids on campus to eat something other than their daily stops at the CDR and Post.”
“We also have a huge alumni base coming back for the both the men’s and women’s lacrosse games, so we thought they would enjoy getting some food while they watch the game this Saturday,” she added.
The event also served as a fundraiser for the women’s lacrosse program where proceeds contributed toward the team depending on “what each food truck would like to give back to us. Some have offered a percentage of their total back to us, and some have just given us a donation,” St. Pierre said.
Senior lacrosse player Sara Ellis also helped with the planning and coordination of the event who set out to target “the parents of both teams, students and community members,” to enjoy the food selections of Dayton Barbecue, Craig’s Pesto Hot Dogs and Pitabilities, Ellis said.
President of Pitablilities Jim Pashovich has owned the food truck for “three years,” said server Robert Schmidt, as he wrote one gyro order into the cash register. “I love being here, I love serving people,” Schmidt said.
Senior Mackenzie Bolon enjoyed a Pitablities famous gyro herself: “There’s nothing else I’d rather eat on this beautiful sunny day. I would 100 percent recommend,” she said.
The men’s lacrosse team didn’t fare as well as the weather, however, with the team losing to rival College of Wooster 9 to 13 on their Senior Recognition Night.
Junior lacrosse player Zach Shy described the game as “a heck of a battle against a much improved Wooster team. Both sides played hard, but when it came down to it, they capitalized on more of their opportunities than us,” Shy said.
“My teammates and I can’t express how much we appreciated all of the support from our friends and family. Despite the result, it was still a great day to celebrate our amazing seniors,” Shy added.
Ellis’ optimistic prediction for the rest of the season was met, however, with a women’s win at 12 to 4 against the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops. “We are hoping to prove to all those who say we can’t, that we, in fact, can. There are a lot of disbelievers out there, but each of us believes in ourselves and our teammates and that will bring us much success this season,” Ellis said.
“We are a young team that is still learning but every day we are working on getting better and that is all I can ask for,” St. Pierre added.
The women’s lacrosse team will play Saturday for their Senior Recognition Day against Hiram while the men travel to DePauw University to play the Aurora Spartans.
