EUREKA – Tears welled up in the eyes of Eureka boys lacrosse players as they observed a moment of silence prior to their game on Saturday.
Former teammate Drew Mitchell, a 2022 Eureka graduate, was killed Thursday after being struck by a vehicle in Oxford, Mississippi where he attended college at the University of Mississippi.
The Eureka team draped Mitchell’s No. 3 jersey over their bench and placed a photo of him beside a vase of flowers on the scorer’s table. After the game, each member of the team lined up to embrace Mitchell’s family and offer condolences.
“It was tough,” senior Liam Kluesner said sorrowfully. “I played with Drew for three years. I love the kid. He is the nicest person I’ve ever met.”
Eureka honored Mitchell by playing a nearly flawless first half, building a 15-point lead and cruising to a 19-2 victory over Marquette on Saturday at Eureka High.
Marquette (6-9) completed a successful regular season schedule after finishing 0-15 last spring and will begin preparations for the postseason.
Nineteen goals is the maximum number Eureka allows itself to score in a game, and it is the first time the Wildcats hit that mark since April 23, 2019, four years ago this week.
“I’m glad we hit our 19 goal. That honors him,” Kluesner said. “It was a big deal for us to put up this kind of (performance) and show him what he meant to us.”
Eureka (7-9) scored eight goals in the first quarter by battling for ground balls, sharing the ball, utilizing picks and finding the perfect shot.
“Our big point was honoring what Drew brought to the program, which was enthusiasm and being a great teammate, and they really adopted that,” Eureka coach Tim Borroff said. “This game was really an example of playing for each other which led to team-wide success.”
Four Eureka players had hat tricks, led by junior Matt Robb who scored five goals.
Freshman Eli Uhrig scored four goals while seniors Nate Bridges and Fletcher Wood scored three. In all, seven different players scored a goal, including senior John Vogel who proudly wore the No. 3 jersey worn by Mitchell last season.
“After Drew graduated I picked up No. 3. He was one of the seniors I looked up to the most,” Vogel said. “Whenever he’d come back to watch our games, I’d joke with him that I was keeping up the legacy of No. 3.”
For the remainder of the season, other Eureka players will have the opportunity to honor Mitchell by wearing the No. 3 jersey during the final three regular season games and throughout the postseason.
It was in that No. 3 jersey that Mitchell scored his first goal of the 2022 season after recovering from a broken collarbone, almost a year to the day, on April 27, against Marquette.
Vogel recalled an early introduction with Mitchell that still resonates with him.
“The first time I stepped onto the field, he was the first person to come up to me, ‘Hi, I’m Drew. If you need any tips, pointers, I got you,’ and for the next three years he continued to show that same support and love,” Vogel said.
Boroff marveled at Mitchell’s love for the Eureka lacrosse program.
“He really bought in to what makes Eureka so special, which is a culture thing. He never missed a single event that we ever had,” Borroff said.
Kluesner spoke of visiting Mitchell’s house for lacrosse film sessions and the genuine kindness that he always showed.
“There’s no one great memory. He’s the great memory,” Kluesner said.
