USU lacrosse slips in soggy showdown

Dark slate-colored clouds covered the sky above Legacy Fields on the Utah State University campus. It seemed as though the rain would hold off for another hour or two — but it didn’t. 

Fifteen minutes into the USU men’s lacrosse game against Montana State University on Saturday, the rain started to pour heavily. Spectators with umbrellas scrambled to open them and those who did not bring them sprinted for their cars. 

The Aggies lost to Montana, 17-7, their first loss of the triple-game weekend. 

Longstick midfielder Grant Hunter said playing in heavy rain is difficult and hard to prepare for. 

“It makes the ball wet and messes with our sticks,” Hunter said. “It is what it is.”

Attackmen Michael Richters stood in the middle of the field after the game and talked about the experience playing in the downpour. He scored three of the team’s goals. 

“I’m very wet,” Richters said. “It’s raining cats and dogs, but we had fun. We had good sportsmanship with the other team.”

Like Hunter, Richter said the rain mainly makes it more difficult to maneuver their sticks. 

“It drags down your stick a little bit and it makes it heavy,” he said. “It’s just freezing cold, especially when you’re just running around getting wet. If it was snowing, it would be a little bit better.” 

Snow is less slick than rain and ultimately the players believe the rain was the contributing factor to their loss. 

“We fought our hardest but it was not the outcome we wanted. We tried,” Hunter said.