Author: Gil Alcaraz
The members of the men’s club lacrosse team are practicing hard, clawing for every goal against their stalwart opponents. Consisting of a group of solid veterans playing alongside promising young talent, the Tigers have had several memorable moments and are consistently improving in ability and team chemistry from week to week.
Despite numerous obstacles, including a very limited number of athletes and consistent injuries every week, the Tigers have put tremendous effort into playing and are not hanging their heads after some disappointing loses.
Led by captains Andrew Leede (senior), Duncan Marks (sophomore) and Wes Goodman-Levy (sophomore), the Tigers hit the field hard each game and have given their opposition little breathing room in each of their six matches this season. Leede and Goodman-Levy have led the charge on offense this season, tallying over 10 goals each so far, followed by Albert Lee (frosh) and Shane Cumings (sophomore), who have four and three goals, respectively. Even though they have been outscored 103-33 this season, they continue to work hard and strive toward bettering themselves as players and as a team.
Rookie goalie Juan Sanchez (sophomore) has stepped up and filled an important void left due to graduation. “I feel like I don’t want my inexperience to be responsible for the team losing the game,” said Sanchez. “However, even if the season is going bad, our team is very united and supportive. That definitely takes a lot of pressure off of my shoulders.”
They’ve had a couple close games this season, including one against Concordia, which ended in a score of 8-6. The team’s last game was Saturday, March 20 at home against the Waves of Pepperdine. Unfortunately, the Tigers fell to the Waves with a demoralizing score of 23-6. “Our lack of focus coupled with exhaustion from the heat made it difficult for us to secure some consistency,” said Leede.
Goodman-Levy and Leede, as well as Brian Cropper (first-year) and Marc Patrick (first-year), were able to put in goals against Pepperdine. Unfortunately, Sanchez and the Tiger defense were unable to keep the opposition from finding the back of the of the net many times. Even after this disheartening defeat, the players are still confident that victory will not elude them for much longer.
Although the team’s rate of success is still unacceptable to the players, there is hope for improvement as it continues to grow and build on existing abilities. “In our eyes, we are failing to meet expectations for this season,” said Leede. “We went into the year hoping to compete for the league title and have utterly fell short but have maintained an upbeat, positive attitude and are learning from the experience.” Although the team has yet to win one of its regular season games, it did come away victorious from two preseason games.
The players are continuously coming closer together as teammates, despite a season full of struggle in which they have failed to secure a single win so far. Confidence and morale are still high during practices as well as games. There has been plenty of progress since their previous season, in which they struggled to put any points on the board. “We have come a long way since last year. We struggled just to put up a fight last season, but have had some close calls this season and are bound to win numerous games before it’s all over,” said defender Matt Salus (sophomore).
Spirits are still high with more than half of the season still remaining. “Our main goal for the rest of the season is to compete to our highest potential in the remainder of our league games,” said Leede. Today, the Tigers will face off against the Bearcats of Willamette University in hopes of securing their first victory of the season.
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