After splitting two games against Washington and third-ranked Simon Fraser this past weekend, the No. 11 men’s club lacrosse team appears to be hitting its stride at just the right time. With the regular season ending soon, team play has been a focal point, and it was on shining display against Washington on April 5.
The Ducks scored their first goal fewer than three minutes into the game, and never trailed after that. Senior co-captain Jon Matusiefsky and junior Chad Loescher each scored twice in the first quarter, and going into the second the Ducks led 5-2. The lead only widened from there, as the Ducks scored four more points and went into halftime with a comfortable 9-3 lead.
Though the Huskies managed an early goal 20 seconds into the second half, the Ducks refused to let up, scoring four consecutive goals and taking a commanding 14-5 lead as the third quarter came to a close.
“We did a really good job controlling the flow of the game,” said head coach Andrew Clough. “We let them make mistakes, rather than forcing them ourselves, and just let the game come to us.”
The Ducks remained in control for the remainder of the game, and while the Huskies closed with four straight goals, the Ducks came away with a convincing 16-9 victory.
“We came out playing smart,” said senior co-captain Cole Magnuson. “In the past we have come out playing slow. Today, everything was clicking on offense, defense and in transition.”
“We played with our flow, and really brought it today,” added senior co-captain Will DeSiervo.
The Ducks played almost as well on April 3 against bitter conference rival Simon Fraser, but came up short as the deficit grew in the fourth quarter. The third-ranked Clan is one of the best teams in the nation but the Ducks showed no signs of intimidation as they stormed out to an 8-6 lead at halftime. Simon Fraser bounced back, however, outscoring the Ducks 4-3 in the third quarter. Nursing a narrow 11-10 lead, the Ducks could not close the deal as the Clan outscored them 6-1 in the fourth quarter and came away with a 16-12 victory.
“We played three quarters of good lacrosse, but you need to play four,” said Clough. “They went out and did exactly what we thought they would do, but when push came to shove we let them off the hook.”
“We came out with energy, and were playing smart,” added Magnuson. “We played three good quarters but just ran out of steam in the fourth.”
DeSiervo finished with a goal and an assist, while Loescher added three goals of his own and junior co-captain Justin Blackmore finished with three goals and two assists.
As tough as the loss was, the Ducks learned a lot from their first encounter with the Clan, and the experience could help them come playoff time.
“There is a good chance we will see them again,” said Clough.
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