Mar. 21st, 2004 - BYU Cruises Against the Utah State Aggies
Special to USLIA.com by Dave Rueckert
Provo, UT -- With nearly half of the game left, half of the starters on BYU's lacrosse team stood half naked on the sideline – enjoying the heat of Saturday's sun. The bench reeked of Banana Boat. Their work was done for the day.
The BYU lacrosse team coasted to a 21-3 victory against the Utah State Aggies over the weekend, moving to 2-0 in league play. The Cougar attack, Justin Hier, Mark Davis and Pete Stevenson - the bane of opposing defenses - produced 13 goals for BYU (9-1) and helped the team to a 14-1 halftime lead.
Coach Jason Lamb said it is hard to coach his team on lacrosse strategy during blowout games, and he wishes his team didn't play like they were on vacation. "I'm not happy with the offense," Lamb said. "This is a time to polish ourselves and we didn't do it." Lamb said his players played hard, but not necessarily smart. The goal total may look impressive, but many of the points came from unsettled scrappy play. Lamb said he was looking for cohesion and success running offensive sets. "We need to do a better job executing," Lamb said, "especially when we have huge games just a few weeks away."
Midfielders Jordan Peel and Mark Tschaggeny each netted two goals for the Cougars.
The Aggies' first-half hole could have been worse if goalie Ben Scott wasn't a tiger in the cage. The Virginia-native freshman had 15 saves in the first half for Utah State (4-2), smothering crease shots and swallowing up shots from the top of the box. Scott said he felt good during the game and likes the direction Utah State is moving in. "BYU has great dodgers and fast cutters, but the defense was there to help me, and I saw the ball well," Scott said. "This is a great level of lacrosse and our program is coming together."
BYU continued its dominance in the second half, scoring six more goals before the Aggies tallied again. The Cougar's many opportunities were a product of great face-off play and an aggressive ride. BYU won 23 of 28 face-offs in the game. The Aggies' leading scorer, Kyle Fiat, was held to one goal and one assist.
Utah State put more pressure on the BYU in the second half, but junior goalie Nick Grant picked up the Cougar defense, making 11 saves and frustrating the Aggie offense. "I wanted to be in a groove when I got out there," Grant said. "I have a lot of confidence in our first and second defenses." Grant said early in the third quarter he got behind a shot that put him into the mindset that carried him through the half. "Kyle Fiat got the ball on the crease and spun and shot. I was in position and it hit my shoulder, the pipe, and went out of bounds," Grant said. "It was a big confidence booster."
Late in the game BYU got offensive contributions from Paul Henderson, Dan Darnall, Bryant Angelos and Curtis Neider. Neider is a Utah lacrosse product, from the "mighty Alta Hawks" lacrosse program.
BYU SCORING
Justin Hier – 5g, 2a
Mark Davis – 5g, 1a
Pete Stevenson – 3g, 1a
Jordan Peel – 2g, 1a
Mark Tschaggeny – 2g, 1a
Bryant Angelos – 1g, 1a
Dan Darnall – 1g
Paul Henderson – 1g
Curtis Neider – 1g
SHOTS
BYU – 57
UTAH ST – 18
Groundballs
BYU – 64
UTAH ST – 21
Face-off's won
BYU – 23
UTAH ST – 5
CLEARS
BYU – 22/24
UTAH ST – 17/35
SAVES
BYU – Storer-2 Grant-11
UTAH ST – Scott-20