Challenging first game set against Colorado State University
CU men’s club lacrosse will be hosting the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference championships May 3-5, with the opening game as more than just the conference semifinals. CU will meet Colorado State University for a rematch of last week’s tough 5-13 loss at Invesco Field at Mile High, but this time they will be playing in Boulder.
“We have only lost one game at home since I have been here, so I think it is going to be tough to beat us at home,” said senior accounting major Jon Atwood.
The home-field advantage can only provide so much help in the championships of a conference that holds nationally ranked No. 1 Brigham Young University, No. 2 CSU, No. 5 CU and No. 18 University of Utah.
“We have the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country in our conference, so it shows that we are from the strongest conference in the country and we have just got to come out of it. If we win these two big games this upcoming weekend then we can bump up our ranking a little bit before nationals,” said sophomore political science major and goalie Kevin Moriarty.
Playing CSU in the opening rounds will be a challenge, but the team feels better heading into the game after getting a chance to play them so recently.
“We will be more prepared for them,” Head Coach John Galvinsaid. “They came out, they jumped up on us early and we really couldn’t recover from it. We tried but you know some of the systems just didn’t work.”
Although the team now has experience playing CSU, there is also increased intensity on both sides because it is the championships.
“All great teams have to do a lot of things in the playoffs, they signify their senior leadership. I still think that is something that we need to really solidify, and I think the guys are doing well but we can do a lot better,” Galvin said. “I think we can keep improving. It’s not really about wins and losses right now, it’s still about getting ourselves better and by next week we will really start preparing for CSU.”
Moriarty led the conference in saves before letting by 13 goals and only making eight saves in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown against CSU. This hit moved CSU goalie Tyson Ehinger to the top of the conference, one spot ahead of Moriarty.
“I try not to think about stats and whatnot, I just try to do what I can for the team. I try to get us a win,” Moriarty said. “I don’t really think about my saves or his saves.”
The 13 CSU goals were not just on Moriarty though, and the rest of the defense feels they need to step it up on the May 4 as well.
“Big players, I mean it has to be on our defensive side right now. We give up 13 goals, that is the second highest all season long. You know we need our close defensemen to step up and it has got to be a solid, team-oriented defense that we really need to focus on,” Galvin said.
After scoring only one goal in the first half of the CSU game, there will need to be an offensive effort as well. As a senior, the team’s leading scorer and the second leading scorer in the conference, Atwood only put up one CU point in the CSU game. His role as a team leader has put extra pressure on him to come back in this game and make up for those lost goals.
“I just need to finish,” Atwood said. “I had all the opportunities but I just didn’t put it in the back of the net.”
After playing the top two teams in the nation, the Buffs’ second leading scorer, freshman open-option major Nick Gennuso said he is not too worried about the upcoming championships.
“I don’t really let it get to my head that much; I am still just another player like everybody else on the team. I might only be 18 years old but they don’t know that on the other side of the field,” Gennuso said. “Just got to go out there and do what I can. Make a difference, not play like a freshman, hopefully make it so I don’t look like a freshman on the field – not make freshman mistakes.”
Despite not having tournament experience, Gennuso sees a promising outlook for CU in the championships.
“I think we should go all the way,” Gennuso said. “I think we definitely have the ability to win the championship, we have just got to come out and prove it. I mean, I expect nothing less than a championship from us so if it doesn’t come, I will be disappointed.”
Adding to the existing difficulty of the championship, even if the team does beat No. 2 CSU, they will then have to take on the winner of the BYU – Utah game. If this means taking on No. 1 BYU, Colorado lost 14-10 to the Cougars earlier in April.
Nonetheless, taking a victory at home would mean a lot to this CU team.
“It would be the first one ever, so you know it would mean a lot on many different levels – from winning our first one to being on our home university, so there is a lot of things to it,” Galvin said. “I mean, we are looking forward to it. It would be great, it would be one of those big things, but you have got to focus one day at a time.”
If CU does win the championships, it would give the team momentum heading into nationals May 13-15.
“If we come out winning this tournament, we will be going into nationals a couple weeks later with a bunch more confidence,” Moriarty said. “We have just got to get that first win over CSU so we know we can do it.”
The games will begin May 3 with the first round of the RMLC Division B championships. CU will open RMLC Division A play on May 4 against CSU at 4 p.m., and the BYU-Utah game will follow at 7 p.m.
Contact Campus Press staff writer Margot Schneider at margot.schneider@thecampuspress.com
