The lacrosse club opened their season last weekend with wins over St. Edwards College and Southwestern College in Austin, Texas.
In the first game, the lacrosse club defeated St. Edwards 13-8. In the second, they pulled away with an 11-8 win over Southwestern.
“Those two conference wins were big, and I am hoping that those wins will help us get into the playoffs later,” lacrosse coach Billy Tauzin, III, said.
Although the lacrosse club played on Saturday and Sunday, junior midfielder Alfredo Soler said he is excited with the club’s 2-0 start.
“Two games on the road for the weekend, and that is pretty rough,” Soler said. “We came out 2-0 this weekend, and that is awesome. We were very excited and now we are ready for the home stretch.”
Sophomore midfielder Joshua Sanders said the club played outstanding on offense and defense in both games.
“We had a great game overall,” Sanders said. “Offense played fantastic because our attack men scored some great goals. Our defense played spectacular because they blocked so many shots.”
Leading the team offensively was sophomore attacker Jonathan Nobile, who scored 10 goals on 19 total shots this weekend. Sophomore attacker Jacob Degate scored six times on 14 shots, sophomore attacker Dustin Schuetter scored four goals on 11 shots, and Soler scored two goals on nine shots.
Sanders won 15 face-offs and collected 22 ground balls. Junior goaltender Derek Stevens collected 12 saves on 53 shots. He surrendered 16 goals total to St. Edwards and Southwestern.
Stevens said the lacrosse club’s defense is not at fault for the 16 total goals allowed this weekend because of their incredible play.
“I just like to clarify that the defense did not give up big goals; I myself gave up big goals,” Stevens said. “The defense helped save a lot of goals that could have went for scores. If our defense continues to play at a high level, we can win the conference championship without a doubt.”
Tauzin agreed with Stevens and said the play of the defense saved the team this weekend.
“The defense was just phenomenal because they saved a lot of shots,” Tauzin said. “Derek didn’t have to face half the shots he faced because those guys were jumping up at the balls for them.”
The lacrosse club starts a five-game home streak Sunday against rival Stephen F. Austin at the Colonels’ soccer field at noon. Tauzin said playing against SFA is more than a game — it is a rivalry.
“Stephen F. Austin has beaten us in the past, and now they have to come to our home turf,” Tauzin said. “They kept us out of the playoffs last year, and that itself makes it a rivalry.”
Sanders said the home stand is beneficial to the team because it allows their fans to see the club play.
“It will be nice to have teams come here and play,” Sanders said. “That will give us a big advantage because we will have our fans. We need people to come out and cheer for us because that really helps us out.”
Tauzin said the thought of playing a home contest with the support of their fans is special.
“This is the best schedule we could ever have. I am just excited to be back here, and I have talked to a lot of guys and they said the crowd should be good even though it is on Super Bowl Sunday. But we start at noon, so we have enough time to get prepared and watch the big game.”