This article was published on the BYU Daily Universe sports website, sportsuniverse.byu.edu on February 5th, 2011
BYU lacrosse began the season at a sprint as it routed Boise State 17-3 in Provo on Saturday.
The high-level performance from BYU prompted Boise State co-head coach Paul Rocchio to praise the Cougars with a bold prediction.
“These guys are going to win the national title,” Rocchio said.
While it might be too early to predict a national title, the Cougars are certainly off to a great start with such a convincing win.
BYU coach Matt Schneck was happy with the win but understands there’s still more room to grow before they win a national championship and acknowledged Boise State helped identify those points of weakness.
“There’s a lot of good competition out there. We’ve got the right talent and now it’s just a question of putting it all together,” Schneck said. “There’s definitely some things that we need to go work on.”
BYU freshman goalie Wes Goar, who had a stand-out game as a starter, is looking forward to where the team will end up.
“I think we’re just gonna keep getting better every game,” Goar said.
After losing eight seniors following last season, including national player of the year Britt Cone, the Cougars were looking to begin the new season on the right foot. And they did just that.
BYU didn’t waste time in setting the tone of the game, running to a 10-0 lead with five minutes left in the first half and winning nine of 13 first half face-offs.
Junior captain Ted Ferrin led a balanced BYU scoring attack with four assists and four goals. The Cougars spread their scoring among nine different players, showcasing the high level of offensive talent they have this season.
However, the game wasn’t only offense. The BYU goalie corps, Goar and Matt Erickson, only allowed three goals on 14 shots.
The Cougars continue to look forward and will set out on the road soon, where they will learn more about their team.
“Our next set of games is on the road so that’s going to be a good test for us,” said senior captain and two-time all-American Tyler Monteath, who against Boise State played his first game since returning from a mission.
The Cougars’ next games will be away matches in one weekend starting Friday, Feb. 18, against Loyola Marymount University.
Showing posts with label boise st.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boise st.. Show all posts
Feb 16, 2011
BYU men’s lacrosse begins season
This article was published in the BYU Daily Universe on February 3rd, 2011.
Coming off an appearance in the quarterfinals in last year’s MCLA national tournament, the No. 6 BYU men’s lacrosse team looks to improve this season with its season opener against Boise State on Saturday.
The team will have to overcome the loss of preseason player of the year Elliot Grow and national player of the year Britt Cone, who coach Matt Schneck said are arguably two of the most talented players to come through the BYU program.
However, the senior captains of this year’s squad seem to be optimistic that while lacking the individual talent from last year, this team will be able to make up for it in overall unity.
Under second-year head coach Schneck (who also played lacrosse at BYU), the team has brought unity to a new level.
“[Schneck’s] been one of the biggest things for team unity,” said Brian Mathay, one of the two senior captains for this year’s team. “We all love him.”
However, the team is definitely not void of talent. Tyler Monteath, the other senior captain and two-time first-team all-American, along with other returning missionaries, will add a wealth of talent to the team this season.
When Monteath left for his mission, he was just coming off the national championship season of 2007 and is looking to get back to that same winning tradition.
BYU hasn’t played Boise State for so long that neither of the senior captains have ever faced them. However, even though they don’t have film on the Broncos, the Cougars are expecting tough competition.
“They’re big boys and they like to play very physically,” Schneck said. “[But] this is really about focusing in on who we are and what we need to be doing.”
Captains Monteath and Mathay said they are also looking forward to the Boise State game to evaluate how the team will fare in its first game of the season.
“We’re excited to just see what the team can do,” Mathay said. “The first game’s always a good chance to see where you are as a team.”
“I’m excited to see what the team’s going to be like when we’re all together,” Monteath said.
New players to watch for this season are Cone and Grow’s replacements, Grayson Dahl and Andrew Harding, as well as freshman Alek Mika and goalie Wes Goar.
The game this weekend will take place on the north university field at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Coming off an appearance in the quarterfinals in last year’s MCLA national tournament, the No. 6 BYU men’s lacrosse team looks to improve this season with its season opener against Boise State on Saturday.
The team will have to overcome the loss of preseason player of the year Elliot Grow and national player of the year Britt Cone, who coach Matt Schneck said are arguably two of the most talented players to come through the BYU program.
However, the senior captains of this year’s squad seem to be optimistic that while lacking the individual talent from last year, this team will be able to make up for it in overall unity.
Under second-year head coach Schneck (who also played lacrosse at BYU), the team has brought unity to a new level.
“[Schneck’s] been one of the biggest things for team unity,” said Brian Mathay, one of the two senior captains for this year’s team. “We all love him.”
However, the team is definitely not void of talent. Tyler Monteath, the other senior captain and two-time first-team all-American, along with other returning missionaries, will add a wealth of talent to the team this season.
When Monteath left for his mission, he was just coming off the national championship season of 2007 and is looking to get back to that same winning tradition.
BYU hasn’t played Boise State for so long that neither of the senior captains have ever faced them. However, even though they don’t have film on the Broncos, the Cougars are expecting tough competition.
“They’re big boys and they like to play very physically,” Schneck said. “[But] this is really about focusing in on who we are and what we need to be doing.”
Captains Monteath and Mathay said they are also looking forward to the Boise State game to evaluate how the team will fare in its first game of the season.
“We’re excited to just see what the team can do,” Mathay said. “The first game’s always a good chance to see where you are as a team.”
“I’m excited to see what the team’s going to be like when we’re all together,” Monteath said.
New players to watch for this season are Cone and Grow’s replacements, Grayson Dahl and Andrew Harding, as well as freshman Alek Mika and goalie Wes Goar.
The game this weekend will take place on the north university field at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)