Apr. 16th, 2003 - (Chico State) Freshman Dan Yob not short on goals
By Chris Cullen
Staff Writer
April 16, 2003
Normally being 5 feet 6 inches in Division I lacrosse is a disadvantage, but freshman Dan Yob flips that card and uses it to his advantage.
Yob has 21 goals and seven assists in 11 games this year for a combined 28 points, ranking him 25th in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League. He is the team's second-leading scorer and a big part of its success.
"Well, I am smaller and quicker so it kind of works to my advantage," Yob said in regards to playing bigger players. "A lot of my moves are because I am smaller and quicker. I like it. I find it more of an advantage."
Yob's ability to use his size as an advantage has been instrumental in the Wildcats' season thus far. The team is ranked No. 9 in the nation and has already qualified for Regionals. If the team remains where it is, the men will go to the National Championships in St. Louis.
"Dan is what I call a game-time player," said Steve Dini, men's lacrosse head coach. "You can see he is good at practice. When it's game time, he finds the zone. He is as fast as anyone and as good as anyone. His size is misleading to players, but Dan's biggest asset is that he can drive the lane on a 6-foot-6-inch defenseman and not lose the ball."
Yob's quick development has helped the Wildcats win big games this season against nationally, top-ranked teams UC Berkeley, Stanford and University of Texas. Yob was especially helpful against University of Texas, which came out guarding the Poor brothers pretty close. Yob snuck around the field and slipped in five goals.
"We're playing against Division I schools and Division I athletes," said defenseman Matt Bissell. "The players he is going against, they're huge. In Dan Yob's case, he takes advantage of his size and gets around those guys."
Yob's development this season is quite remarkable. He is only a freshman and ranked 25th out of 800 players in the WCLL. He is a demanding force on offense, but surprisingly, he does not draw a lot of attention.
"Sometimes it takes great players a couple years to step it up," Dini said. "That's not the case with Dan. I am interested to see how good he is as a sophomore, junior and senior."
Yob comes to Chico with a history as a star lacrosse player. In high school, Yob's Palo Alto club team won State Championships and he was named the team's most valuable player. This season he has proven he can hang with the best in Division I lacrosse.
Yob is already starting to shape into a team leader. Because he is an impact player, he is forced to be a leader, which is sometimes hard for a freshman.
"He is very well respected and very well liked, but a little young," Dini said. "He leads in a way that a freshman can. He is an impact player and he will be leader."
Yob is really close with all of his teammates. During his free time he is always having fun hanging out with team members. He said that this is the closest team he has ever been on.
"It's like a big family," Yob said. "We hang out on and off the field. We spent the whole preseason hanging out together. We are all friends."
Yob started the season scoring a little under one goal per game. Now Yob averages 1.91 goals and 0.61 assists per game. His improvement this year is pretty evident, Dini said, and he should be a huge force in the future.
"Seeing that he is a freshman, I think can go really far," Bissell said. "This season he has become a big star. Hopefully he can handle the big guns in the future."
This article originally appeared in the Orion Online.