Men’s club lacrosse to play final home games of season
Against two Division I teams, the Utah State University men’s lacrosse team will play its final two home games of the season Friday and Saturday on Tower Field.
Friday at 4 p.m., the Aggies will face the University of Utah, followed by Saturday’s match at 1 p.m. against Boise State University.
Although both games are expected to be close, the Aggies will be focusing mostly on Friday’s matchup against the Utes, said Nathan Daniels, club president.
In the past five or six years, the rivalry between the Aggies and the Utes has been dominated by the Utes. In that period, the only time the Aggies defeated the Utes was in the fall of 2002, the last meeting between the two teams.
With the Utes ranked 22nd in the nation, the Aggies believe a win on Friday would really help going into the playoffs, Daniels said.
“If we come off with a win, it will definitely increase our exposure and boost our confidence,” he said.
Despite the Utes being a Division I team, Daniels said the Aggies have a good chance of increasing their record to 8-6 on the season. One reason the Aggies believe they have the advantage is because of the results from playing BYU.
Although both teams have lost to BYU this season, the Aggies gave them a better game, losing 10-5, while the Utes lost to BYU 14-4.
In addition, the Utes are in a rebuilding stage with young players, yet the Aggies still must play their game, Daniels said.
“We need to control the pace of the game and have more possession time, along with getting ground balls, if we’re going to win,” he said.
If they perform well Friday, then Saturday’s game against Boise should be in the Aggies favor because of home-field advantage along with the momentum.
Not only do the Aggies have home-field advantage against the 1-6 Boise team, but they are also 1-0 against Boise this season. Two weeks ago the Aggies traveled to Idaho to play Boise and, after a four-goal deficit, came back to defeat Boise 13-11.
The comeback was a moral victory for the Aggies, Daniels said, because last year, Boise beat USU in the Division II championship game.
Both teams the Aggies face this weekend are now Division I teams, Boise in its first year and the Utes in their second year in that league, so doing well is important for the Aggies, he said.
“It’s fun to knock off Division I teams, just because of the underdog issue,” Daniels said.
Following Saturday’s game, Utah State will have one more regular season game as its travels to Orem to play Utah Valley State College, Tuesday at 6 p.m.
The Aggies and Wolverines played in Logan on April 12. In that game, USU jumped out to a 9-1 halftime lead, and fought off a late UVSC charge for a 14-8 victory.
The UVSC game will be USU’s final tuneup for the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Lacrosse League Playoffs, held April 25 and 26 in Denver. Utah State will be a Division II team in that tournament.
-csmo@cc.usu.edu