CSUSM 12 – Biola 14
This past Saturday, the Cougs took a short trip up to La Mirada to face the Biola Eagles. These two programs had never faced each other, but CSUSM knew it would be a close game. Easily the most physical game of the season, it came down to the final minutes to decide a winner.
A slow start for the Cougars had this one looking lop sided early. Penalties and turnovers helped the Eagles jump out to a 6-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. Freshman midfielder, Rashid Jones, helped the Cougs bounce back with two first quarter goals. With a lot of ground to recover, CSUSM took this momentum into the second quarter, tightening up the defense and sharpening the offensive attack.
The defense stepped up big in the second quarter and left Biola scoreless going into halftime. Junior LSM, James Delaney led the team with 6 ground balls, and helped the Cougs keep the ball on the offensive side of the field. CSUSM was able to put in two goals, closing the gap to 6-4 at the half.
Both teams came out firing in the third. Freshman attackman, Austin Jenkin, continues to lead the offense tallying 7 points on the game, 5 goals and 2 assists. Ian Hooks and Dylan Perry added 4 points a piece, 2 goals, 2 assists respectively, as the Cougars looked to claw their way back into this game. The Eagles did not make it easy as they tacked on 5 more goals in the third, making it 11-7 Biola, heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, the Cougars went on a 5-1 run, tying the game at 12 a piece with five minutes left. The intensity was through the roof as the game counted down to the final minutes. Unfortunately, a couple late errors and missed opportunities allowed Biola to respond with two goals, sealing the deal, 14-12.
CSUSM showed flashes of brilliance in this game. Tenacious defense and a fast paced offense were the positive take a ways for the Cougars. Improvements that need to be made include the tempo from the very first whistle, lacrosse IQ and winning the hustle plays. Coach Hicks highlighted that “the fourth quarter really showed how our guys can mesh and buy into our system. However, it was too little too late. We need to bring the intensity from the very first whistle, which we did not do tonight. Coming back from the early deficit really cost us. Hopefully this adds on to the experience for some of these young players and correcting their mistakes. We have a huge game next week and we have to play four full quarters to expect to beat Concordia.”
The Cougars are playing the defending SLC champions, Concordia University, this Saturday, March 15, at 11:00am. The game will be at CSUSM on the Multi-Purpose field.