The Southern Utah University men’s lacrosse team began their road trip to Laramie, Wyoming, and Bozeman, Montana, on Friday, March 29. Despite hoping to break their three-game losing streak, the Thunderbirds fell short against both the University of Wyoming and No. 3-ranked Montana State University.
University of Wyoming
The matchup against SUU and UW started as a back-and-forth fight between the teams. Wyoming scored first, followed by SUU soon after.
“We came here to walk all over this team, and when they came out swinging, it took us a bit as a team to adjust,” said sophomore attackman Mac Call.
The battle continued as both defenses caused turnovers and goalies made impressive saves. SUU gained momentum when attackman Elijah Lowe scored a hat-trick in the first half, but UW still had the 6-4 lead going into halftime.
However, SUU carried their momentum into the second half and outscored UW in the third quarter. UW continued to fight, creating a one-point game heading into the fourth.
SUU needed to play as a team in order to get the outcome they wanted.
The fight between teams continued, and near the end of the game, UW took the lead by one. Tensions were high as the clock hit one minute left. SUU midfielder Grant Hyde scored his second goal of the game to send it into overtime.
In lacrosse, overtime is sudden death, so the team that scores first wins the game.
Overtime started, and while SUU won the faceoff, they eventually turned over the ball. Aggressive defensive play from SUU caused a penalty, and they were forced to play man-down.
UW started with the ball after the penalty and found the back of the net soon after to win the game 12-11.
“Losing in overtime is never fun and probably the most gut-wrenching thing that can happen in sports,” said Call after the loss. Even though emotions were high, SUU only had positive words to say to one another. “Finally watching the offense come together as a unit was a big highlight in that game.”
Stat Leaders
— Lowe had five goals.
— Call had two goals and three assists.
— Hyde had two goals, two assists and six faceoff wins.
Montana State University
SUU stepped onto the field with high energy despite the loss from the night before. The 17-person team appeared very small against MSU’s 43-person roster.
MSU won the first faceoff and quickly put up eight goals.
“We seemed starstruck in the first quarter, but then we figured out we could play with them,” said senior midfielder Colton Davis.
The second quarter started, and SUU held MSU to only two points for the rest of the half. They remained scoreless, leaving MSU with the 10-0 lead.
SUU came out swinging after halftime, and Lowe scored a goal to put the Thunderbirds on the scoreboard. Call dodged from behind the goal and scored to energize the entire SUU roster.
The Southern Utah defense continued to play aggressively, and sophomore goalie Darin Salmon only allowed four points for the rest of the quarter.
The fourth quarter was no different: SUU continued to give the game their all. One more goal by Hyde brought the total score to three for SUU. MSU was held to two goals for the rest of the game and won 16-3.
As both teams retreated to their locker rooms, SUU held their heads high and kept their energy as they cheered each other on.
“When we came off the field, it seemed as though we were the ones who won the game,” said head coach James Simpson. “We had a goal to keep them under 20 points and to put up at least one goal.”
Stat Leaders
— Salmon had a 66.7% save rate, 16% above the national average and 10% higher than his season average.
Next up
SUU will travel to Durango, Colorado, on Friday, April 5, for another doubleheader weekend against Fort Lewis College and Colorado School of Mines. This will be the first-ever meeting for SUU and the Colorado Mines Orediggers.
Author: Caden Houchin
Photographer: Jesus Verdiell
Editor: Anden Garfield
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