BYU lacrosse sailed through Las Vegas this weekend with three more victories.
The Cougars had three challenging games against the UNLV, Chapman University and Loyola Marymount University. BYU played these games one right after the other in a three day trip to Las Vegas. BYU ended the trip scoring 29 total goals and only allowing 17.
“When we scheduled the games we knew it was going to be difficult,” BYU coach Matt Schneck said. “It was going to be a challenge mentally and physically. We are pleased with the turn out, but we could tell it was difficult for the team.”
BYU’s first game against UNLV challenged the Cougar defense and offense as the teams went back and forth scoring goals quarter after quarter. However, BYU’s consistency in shooting led it to a 9–7 victory. The challenge didn’t stop there as the team tried to recover for Friday’s tough game against Chapman.
Chapman challenged the young defense early by sparking a two point lead in the first quarter. BYU fought back by scoring five goals in the second quarter giving the team a 5–2 lead into the half. Senior captain Mickell Walker and sophomore midfielder Jayden Haws both had hattricks in the game, which ended in a close 11–8 victory for the Cougars.
“Once the momentum gets going there is no stopping us,” sophomore midfielder Zach Jordan said.
BYU endeed its trip with a game against Loyola Marymount where the momentum kept building for this young team. Sophmore Mike Fabrizio continued his hattrick streak with three goals and one assist in Saturday’s game. Fabrizio is averaging three goals and one assist a game this season.
“We have a unique team this year,” Fabrizio said. “We are a young team and we have a lot of guys willing to play selfless lacrosse, which is giving me a lot of opportunities.”
BYU still has 13 games remaining in its season and only six home games, but so far the team looks to be heading in the right direction.
“It was a big test playing three games in a row,” Jordan said. “We are here to play and now everyone knows that.”
The Cougars are focusing on recovering from the exhausting weekend and getting healthy for the second home game of the season against Utah State University on Saturday.
