The Gonzaga men's lacrosse team was able to build on its momentum and bring its current winning streak to four with victories over Chico State and Portland State last weekend in Portland.
After snapping a four-game losing streak the previous weekend with wins over the University of Idaho and Washington State University, Gonzaga came into the Portland road trip with plenty of confidence.
"The team felt good coming off the two much-needed wins at home, and recognized that Idaho is much improved but still not the most competitive team," said junior Ryan Carr. "We did feel as though we had made some good progress, though, and felt like we really had something to prove on Saturday against Chico State."
Heading into the match, Chico State was ranked No. 32 in the nation, and played like it for the majority of the game. Gonzaga was down by as many as four goals in the second half before making a late run to come away with an 11-9 win.
Even with the playoffs out of reach for the Bulldogs, they understand the importance of beating a team of that caliber.
"It was huge," said junior goalie David Hughes. "By far [it was] the biggest victory that I've seen Gonzaga lacrosse have since I was a freshman."
While the win may be too little too late for Gonzaga, the players feel that the game itself will have a much larger impact on the team, reaching far beyond this season.
"That win against Chico State is what our team really needed," said freshman Stewart Allen, who contributed three goals in the contest. "We have been playing well all season, but beating them really showed all the other teams in our conference that we can compete and that Gonzaga lacrosse is here to stay."
Following the Chico State game, Gonzaga avoided a letdown by defeating Portland State 19-4. Leading the charge in the game was Allen, with four goals and an assist, and junior Jeff Brown, who scored three times and contributed an assist as well.
After losing four straight games prior to the University of Idaho contest, Gonzaga has turned the season around with these last four wins, bringing its record to 5-6 in the season. The players attribute this improvement to a change of focus and simply going back to the fundamentals of the game.
"The team realized we really needed to get back to basics," Carr said. "We weren't losing because we didn't have the talent, we were losing because we weren't playing fundamentally sound. Our practice style has changed and it's easy to tell at practice that we're a whole different team."
With only one game remaining, the Bulldogs hope they can end their season with a victory against Simon Fraser University on April 26 in Burbank, B.C. This will be no easy task with Simon Fraser, a national powerhouse, coming into the game ranked No. 5 in the MCLA.
After struggling in the first half of the season, Gonzaga understands what a win over a team like Simon Fraser could do for their program.
"It would be awesome. In the 12 years that the MCLA (Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association) has been around, we have never beat Simon Fraser," Brown said. "I think it would help us with recruiting, and it would help us with next year, being prepared and in the beginning of the season with what we need to do to match the level of competition that those teams play."
With many key players returning next season, the Bulldogs would enjoy nothing more than to head into next fall on a high note with a win over SFU.
"I think that having good momentum going into the offseason is important because it makes the whole team excited to play next season," Allen said. "Leaving the season on a winning streak keeps everyone dedicated and prepared for next season as well."
Be the first to comment on this article!