CSUSM 7 – San Jose State 8

In a hard fought game this past Sunday, the Cougars were given their first loss of the season.  With many missed opportunities and the game coming down to the final minutes, the San Jose State Spartans came away with an 8-7 victory.  CSUSM had 21 unforced turnovers and and the Spartans capitalized on many of their transition opportunities.

The game started with a quick goal from San Jose State and the Cougars never regained the lead for the rest of the game.  CSUSM was able to tie the score twice and with the game knotted at 7-7 in the final minutes, the Cougars were unable to execute.

On the offensive end, Junior Attackman and Captain, Dylan Perry (on left), had four goals and one assist.  Current points leader, Austin Jenkin, was shutout for most of the game and only had one goal against the Spartan defense.  The midfield unit had trouble finding the back of the net, and with so many turnovers you can be sure that the Cougars are watching last Sunday’s film and practicing hard this week to prepare for a tough game this weekend against Occidental this weekend.

Coach Hicks had little to say after the game except that “21 unforced turnovers is absurd and the guys know that.  This week we will be correcting all of our mistakes on offense and pushing hard to tighten up our play in transition.  Defense is still playing well and we need to continue to do so if we expect to beat a solid Occidental team this weekend.”

The Cougars face the Occidental Tigers this weekend on Saturday, March 1, at 6:00pm.  The game will be at Great Oak High School in Temecula, CA following the high school varsity lacrosse game.  The Cougars have not faced Occidental in an official MCLA  match up.

CSUSM 14 – Channel Islands 3

This past Saturday, Cal State San Marcos traveled up North to take on the Dolphins of CSU Channel Islands.  This is only the second time the two teams have met after a CSUSM victory last year.  The Cougar defense really stepped up and commanded the outcome of this game from beginning and brought a win to San Marcos with a score of 14-3.

In the first half, the Cougars outscored the Dolphins 9-0.  There were many errors offensively, but due to the brick wall defense on the other end of the field, the team was able to hold them scoreless going into the second half.  At the beginning of the second half, Channel Islands put up three quick goals to end their shutout.  The Cougars only put up five goals in the final 30 minutes, but were able to begin executing plays offensively and eliminate some of the sloppy play.   With junior LSM, James Delaney, scooping up seven ground balls on the face-off wing and the defense consistently causing turnovers, San Marcos was able to have possession of the ball for most of the game.

The close defense really took this control of this game, but the Cougar offense was able to continually execute even with a few unforced errors.  Freshman attackman, Austin Jenkin (on left), facilitated an easy win by having seven goals and one assist.  Other notable freshman were midfielders Brandon Bowens and Rashid Jones, putting up two points each.

After the game, Coach Hicks felt pleased with the cohesion and teamwork the Cougars were playing with and expect to clean up the offensive errors this coming week.  “Thankfully our defense came out strong and never let down all game, but we definitely have some things to work on offensively if we expect to beat our coming opponents.  Our schedule only gets harder from here, but I am confident that we can fix everything from today.  Overall, I’m happy with the win and how the team is buying into the system.”

The Cougars face the San Jose State Spartans in their home opener on February 23, at 12:00pm.  The Cougars are 1-0 against the Spartans, victorious in last-season’s match-up 13-8.

CSUSM 12 – UC Irvine 5

Cal State San Marcos opened their 2014 season Saturday with a short trip up the I-5 to take on the Anteaters of UC Irvine, the third meeting between these divisional opponents in as many seasons. Led by a strong performance from their defense the Cougars begin the season with a huge divisional road win, 12-5.
The first half started off slow for San Marcos on the offensive side, as the Cougars were held to just three tallies in opening 30 minutes. The defense was the bright spot, holding the Anteaters scoreless in the first half with a smothering attack that did not allow Irvine to get anything going on offense. Led by junior long stick midfielder James Delaney, the defense played aggressive, creating turnovers and capitalizing on opportunities to scoop up loose ground balls.
The Cougar offensive woke up after the intermission, taking advantage of the opportunities their defense was giving them by scoring nine goals in the second half. In his first collegiate game, freshman Austin Jenkin had a big spot to fill on the Cougars’ attack line with the departure of two-time 1st team all-conference selection Kyle Peterson. The freshman did not disappoint, scoring four goals and dishing two assists, the attack line for San Marcos showed there will be no slowing down.

Coach Teddy Hicks, entering his second season with the team, was happy with his team’s performance, especially what he saw from the young guys, “We came out a little rusty but got on track after the first half. I’m looking forward to heading back to the drawing board at practice to tie up some of our loose ends. All in all, I’m happy to see how our freshman were able to respond in their first collegiate game. Excited to clean some things up before we visit Channel Islands.”

Next up for San Marcos are the Dolphins of Cal State Channel Islands. The contest will be played in Camarillo, CA on February 15th. The Cougars are 1-0 against the Dolphins, victorious in last-season’s match-up 21-5.