The Cougar lacrosse team extended its winning streak to 11 with a pair of lopsided victories this week. BYU followed up its Thursday night 24-7 win over the Utah State Aggies in Logan with a 20-9 home victory against the Simon Fraser Clan on Friday.
The Cougars took control of Thursday’s game early, scoring 18 goals while only giving up two in the first half. The overwhelming lead allowed BYU head coach Matt Schneck to use his younger players for most of the second half.
“It was really most of our younger guys who played the entire third and fourth quarters of the game,” Schneck said. “If we have an opportunity for some of the younger guys to get in and play, we expect that they’re going to try to maintain the same level of play.”
Things again seemed to be going well early for the Cougars on Friday night, as Nick Stevens opened the scoring with a Mike Fabrizio-assisted goal in the first 30 seconds of the game. But the visitors from Canada didn’t let that discourage them, as Simon Fraser controlled possession for the majority of the first quarter.
“We started out a little bit slow,” Schneck said. “We really weren’t moving our feet, our passes weren’t crisp, and so it took us a little while to get going in the game.”
The Clan scored five goals to BYU’s two in the opening period, including a buzzer-beating shot by Jordan Lashar.
The Cougars retook the lead in the second quarter with five goals of their own. The highlight of the period was a collaborative coast-to-coast play that started with Fabrizio winning the ball deep in BYU’s defensive zone and ended with a score on the other end from Jack Fabrizio after a series of skillful passes.
“We ride hard, and that’s what we’re taught,” Jack Fabrizio said of his brother’s physical play. “I just had to finish it.”
“I would have been mad if he missed that one,” the older Fabrizio joked after the game. “I could barely breathe after that.”
Mike scored another pair of goals later in the period to give the Cougars a 7-6 halftime lead.
The depth of the Cougars proved too much for Simon Fraser in the second half. BYU got 13 goals from nine different players after the break, bringing the total number of goal-scorers to 11.
“We’re an offense built around assisting and looking for the best looks,” Jack Fabrizio said. “We have a lot of threats on our team who are able to catch and shoot.”
Schneck was again able to give his less-experienced players some game action toward the end of the Cougars’ blowout victory.
BYU will look to further extend its streak against arch-rivals Colorado State and Colorado next Thursday and Friday nights. Face-off for each of those games begins at 7:00 p.m. at Helaman Fields.
