Short-handed lacrosse goes 0-3 in tournament
With only minutes left in the Utah State lacrosse team’s 12-3 loss to Utah Saturday, Aggie defenseman Matt Polityka threw up through his facemask, turned to the official, smiled and asked for a timeout.
As he walked to the sideline he removed his helmet and vomited once more – No. 6 on the afternoon.
“Red Gatorade,” he said to his teammates.
By the end of Saturday’s round-robin tournament featuring USU, Utah, Utah Valley State and a men’s club team from Salt Lake City, Polityka and the Ags had played three full games with only two substitutes. The Utah and UVSC sidelines had at least 20 alternates.
“I haven’t puked on the field in a while,” Polityka said. “It’s always rough playing [what we call] ‘Iron Man lacrosse.'”
The short-handed Aggies were held winless in three games Saturday, but players said they weren’t worried about the performances.
“I think it’s encouraging just to have these players show up,” team captain Albert Garner said. “Regardless of how many we have, we’re still a team. We’ve got to play with what we’ve got.”
Garner said a number of players opted to forego playing for the club during the fall season, but will be on the roster when the team’s competitive season starts in February.
Against Utah, the Ags played close until the Utes scored two quick goals in the final minute of the first half, a one-timer by Parker Ellison and a garbage goal with time expiring.
The Aggies were held scoreless for a majority of the second half and the Utes ran away with the win.
Scoring six goals Saturday afternoon, Garner led the way offensively for the young Utah State team, which also lost to UVSC 10-7 and the Salt Lake club 16-6.
But Garner and Polityka said the game’s outcomes are not nearly as important during the fall season as the practice and experience gained by the players.
“Fall is just a practice period,” Polityka said. “None of these games matter. They make us better as a team, that’s about it.”
“This is my fourth year playing for this team,” Garner said. “I’m one of the four returning players we have on this squad right now. Experience is definitely a factor. A lot of these guys are freshman and sophomores and kids that just barely got back from missions and what not.”
The Ags lost 11 players – eight of 10 starters – over the off-season, including last year’s leading scorer Kyle Fiat, who transferred to Towsend, a Division I lacrosse school in Maryland.
“He’s an irreplaceable player,” Polityka said. “He was averaging six points a game. If he was here, we’d be winning.”
“It hurts us big time,” Garner said. “Your starters are all your experience.”
Attackman and midfielder Brian Miller also had a good day for Utah State, scoring five goals of his own.
The Utes finished the afternoon 3-0, while UVSC notched a record of 2-1 and the Salt Lake club finished 1-2.
The Ags will have a chance at a rematch with the Wolverines later this month in Orem before traveling to Las Vegas for the Best of the West Tournament Oct. 22-24.
-acf@cc.usu.edu