Idaho tries to bounce back after falling in first two conference games
The Idaho men’s club lacrosse team began its conference play last weekend against the top two teams in the conference — Oregon State and Simon Frasier.
Even with the crowd behind them and having the home-field advantage, Idaho could not muster up enough to defeat its opponents, falling to Oregon State 19-7 Saturday and then to Simon Frasier 18-11 Sunday, putting their overall record at an even 2-2.
Nate Mattson | Argonaut
Senior Patrick Tunison waits for a chance to steal the ball during Sunday’s game against Simon Fraiser at the SprinTurf.
Up next, the Vandals finish up their six-game home stand Friday and Sunday before they take on a lengthy six-game road trip. The Vandals will try to get back on track as they take on a nonconference Division II opponent, the Great Falls Argos, at 6 p.m. Friday at the SprinTurf.
“Great Falls is a team that shouldn’t be underestimated,” senior defenseman Austin Volking said. “They have got some big guys and they can put the ball away if they really want to. The part where we are going to get them is with our numbers.”
After this, the Vandals continue at home to take on conference opponent Washington at 12 p.m. on the SprinTurf. Both teams are looking for their first conference win as the Huskies sit at a 1-3 record overall and 0-1 in conference.
Over the last three years, the Huskies hold a 2-1 record over the Vandals with the margin of wins being no more than five goals.
Idaho is sitting with 57 goals for on the season and allowing 55 goals, while the Huskies are struggling to find the back of the net with only 28 goals for third-to-last in the conference, but only letting in 36 goals.
“The biggest thing I’d like to see is the guys fighting hard and coming out ready to work, no matter who we are playing,” Idaho coach Sammy Vogel-Seidenberg said. “Knowing we have to fight for every game. We can’t just think we are going to come in and win.”
Though the team is looking at a young squad this year with only seven juniors and seniors out of the 24-man roster, the progress in the program has continued to improve.
“It’s been a lot of development and change over the last four years,” Volking said. “We went kind of from a three-day-a-week practice that was a little light, to a five-days-a-week.” We’re doing film on Mondays. We’re doing wall ball. We’re practicing three, four days a week and the focus is there, the motivation is there and the want to be there seems to be where we need to be in order to contend for a playoff spot.”
Ryan Pavel can be reached at [email protected]