Long Beach Recap

Posted on March 24, 2014 by csusmlacrosse

CSUSM 13 – Long Beach 1

The Cougars went up to Orange County, CA last Wednesday to face CSU Long Beach in a game with playoff implications. CSUSM was 1-1 against Long Beach and was expecting a hard fought game from the 49ers. The Cougs got off to a great start by burying five goals in the first quarter and keeping Long Beach scoreless through the half. The attack unit continues to impress with six goals from Freshman, Austin Jenkin, and four from Captain, Dylan Perry.

After a rough loss to #14 Concordia, the Cougs came out hungry and ready to play against Long Beach. The Defense stood strong and only allowed one goal the entire game. Freshman Goalie, Andrew Castillo had eight saves.

The Cougars took on #12 Fullerton on Sunday, March 23 at CSUSM.

Concordia Recap

Posted on March 18, 2014 by csusmlacrosse

CSUSM 6 – Concordia 19

The Cougars faced another set of Eagles this past weekend as Concordia came down to San Marcos for an SLC match up. Concordia is the defending conference champion and the Cougs knew that it would be a tough game. The game started with a couple easy goals by Concordia but CSUSM was able to respond and keep the game close coming into the second quarter. In the second, the Cougs brought the game within one goal, but Concordia continued to execute on their possessions and racked up seven goals to bring the score to 11-5 at the half.

Some crucial injuries really hindered the Coug offense and allowed Concordia to slip away through the second half. The CSUSM attack were all able to score, but the midfield unit still struggled to find the back of the net. Coach Hicks briefly stated after the game that, “we knew what to expect and we felt like we made the right adjustments, but we couldn’t manage to execute. Penalties and injuries really shot us in the foot too. The guys know the game plan, and I think we are ready to bounce back and take on Long Beach on Wednesday.

The Cougars travel to Orange County tomorrow night to face the Long Beach 49er’s at 7:00pm. The game will be at Long Beach State. The Cougars are 1-1 overall against the 49er’s.

Biola Recap

Posted on March 10, 2014 by csusmlacrosse

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.

Capture 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.

Occidental Recap

Posted on March 3, 2014 by csusmlacrosse

CSUSM 17 – Occidental 10

The Cougars traveled to Temecula, CA, this past weekend to participate in Great Oak High School’s College Night and take on the Occidental Tigers. With torrential rains throughout Southern California, both teams were prepared for a wet one. Just as expected, the rain started to pour down during pre-game warmups. The CSUSM roster is entirely comprised of Southern California residents, so playing in the rain is not something that many of Cougs had experience before. Regardless, CSUSM brought tenacity and vigorous energy from the very first whistle.

With three early goals from Occidental, Coach Hicks called a timeout to talk over the early mistakes. After that, the Cougs came out firing and didn’t stop until the very end. The game was evenly matched through the entire first half, but the Cougs took a one goal lead at the very end of the second quarter. This energy boost carried through halftime and the Cougars were ready to roar in second half. CSUSM outscored Occidental 6-1 in the third quarter.

The CSUSM attack unit brought their A-game and commanded the pace of play in this game. The starting attack took care of 15 of 17 goals for the Cougars and facilitated a staggering 10 assists. Dylan Perry and Austin Jenkin led the game with nine points each. While the CSUSM midfield has yet to find their stride, the Cougs make up for in their ability to maintain possession.

Coach Hicks stated that “the bar has been set. Our guys came out and played well for all four quarters. I am very proud in what we did tonight and there is no more excuses for sloppy play. This week we will definitely be committing some time to creating more opportunities for the midfield units as well as continuing to make adjustments defensively. Our attack came out and did what they had to do, but we are making sure that we can fill the gaps in other areas. We are remaining humble, but if we continue to elevate our play from here we are going to surprise a lot of teams throughout the rest of the season.”

The Cougars travel north this weekend to face the Biola Eagles on Saturday, March 8, at 7:00pm. The game will be at Biola University in La Mirada, CA. The Cougars have never played Biola.