Lacrosse club expecting physical game in home opener
In its first home game of the season, the Utah State men’s lacrosse club is facing its toughest league competition, Fort Lewis College, Saturday at 1 p.m. at Tower Field.
The last time the Aggies faced the Skyhawks was last year at their home field in Durango, Colo., which ended in a loss for USU. But a lot will be different this time around, said USU Head Coach Eddie Vega.
Last season the Skyhawks played as a Division I team, and had a lot of experience playing against more talented teams, which they benefited from when they faced the Aggies.
This year the Aggies will have the chance to benefit from the experience of playing Division teams, due to last week’s Spring Break trip to Arizona and California, where they faced five D-I teams.
In addition, USU will have the home-field advantage, something that greatly affected the game in Colorado, said captain Albert Garner.
“Their fans treated us pretty bad the last time we traveled up there,” he said. “We’re hoping to have the advantage this time and show them what our fans can do.”
Despite home field advantage, Saturday’s game should be close, Garner said. He said both the Aggies and the Skyhawks pride themselves on being more physical than their opponents.
During its games over Spring Break, Garner said Utah State proved that playing physical is not a trait of the past.
“Of all the teams we played against, we were the only ones that were hitting and checking players,” he said. “That’s just how we are.”
But to win come Saturday, USU must do more than simply play physical, Vega said. Although USU held each of the D-I teams to under 10 points, its defense must step up and play even better, Vega said.
He said the Aggies must also win possession of the ball a lot more than they did last week.
One thing that will help the Aggie defense continue to improve is having a number of starters back who did not play last week.
“If they [the Aggies] play their own game, we should win,” Vega said.
A win Saturday will give the Aggies their second win of the season and a 2-0 record in their division. Currently the Aggies are 1-5 on the season, with all five losses occurring over Spring Break — each to D-I teams.
Saturday’s game will also feature a barbeque for Aggie fans.
–csmo@cc.usu.edu