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The University of Idaho lacrosse team loaded into rented vans Sunday night for the trip home from its nearly 1,000 mile road trip through the Beaver State, which included stops at no.5 Oregon and Oregon State University.
The Idaho lacrosse team rolled into Eugene Friday in the vans it rented from the College of Natural Resources to play the University of Oregon.
Idaho coach Ryan Hanavan said OU operates on a budget of $130,000, while the Vandals are “lucky if we get $30,000.”
With a much larger budget and a roster nearly twice the size of Idaho’s, the fifth ranked team in the country presented a formidable obstacle for the young Vandal program, Hanavan said before the match.
“Oregon lost in the national championship match last year, and they look like they are ready to head back this year,” Hanavan said.
The Ducks put away the Vandals 21-4 Saturday in what looks like a championship performance, but Hanavan said the difference in the match Saturday hinged more on the Idaho mistakes than Oregon triumphs.
“This was an example of a game that we lost, not necessarily a game that they won,” Hanavan said. “Most of the negative stuff that happened today is stuff that we can fix.”
Idaho, which was playing in its first match of the season, made mistakes that showed that the young program still had some kinks to work out.
Vandal penalties plagued the first half of the match, forcing Idaho to play defense throughout most of that time, which Hanavan said to his defense tiring early and allowing Oregon more opportunities to score.
The Vandals came out trailing 9-2 and played better offensively in the second half and, despite only scoring two points, Hanavan said he could see the team improving just between the two halves.
The Ducks couldn’t be held back in the end, as the final score showed their offensive might. The Vandals loaded back into the vans Saturday night to head for Corvallis to take on Oregon State University, who Hanavan expected to give a more physical and defensive game.
The Vandals came out with a stronger overall performance against the Beavers Sunday, but lost it over the course of six minutes in the third quarter.
The Beavers held a slim 5-4 lead heading into the break, and Hanavan said the Vandals had everything working when they came out of halftime, but an Oregon State rally put up their final seven points over the course of six minutes in the third.
“The breakdown in the third quarter was just one of those things in sports,” Hanavan said. “We let a few quick ones get in, and then all of a sudden, the rally was on.”
The Beavers were held scoreless in the fourth quarter, while the Vandal offense, led by John Andrysiak with three goals, continued to plug away. Despite their best efforts, the Vandals came up on the short side 12-6.
Despite the loss, Hanavan credited his defense with a large improvement over Friday’s performance. He said he was disappointed the team didn’t have another match until March 12, when they play UC Davis.
“The defense was a huge improvement today, and we started to see the offense really come together today, where yesterday it was just a few flashes,” Hanavan said. “I just wish we had another game to play tomorrow so we could keep seeing these improvements.”
The Vandals will hope to carry the improvements with them when they hit the road again over Spring Break in their rented wheels on a trip to see UC Davis, St. Maries College and Nevada.
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