Josh Tunick goes against a Grand Canyon defender. BYU lost 12-4 Friday night. (Natalie Stoker)
BYU lacrosse fell to Grand Canyon University, the defending national champions, 12-4 on Friday night.
The first half brought a quick start for the Cougars. Conor Williams and Zach Labrum goals put BYU in the lead, but Grand Canyon responded with three quick goals to finish the first quarter 3-2.
Max Ash and Winston Farley scored to bring the Cougars back in the lead, but Grand Canyon answered again to tie it going into half-time.
'We felt really good coming into the second half. 'We were in control,' Farley said. At the half we lost our momentum.'
BYU saw difficulty maintaining possession and control in the second half. Turnovers and mistakes prevented the Cougars from stopping Grand Canyon's offense. The Lopes put in eight more goals and held BYU scoreless for the rest of the game.
'Good teams still have bad nights,' said BYU head coach Matt Schneck. 'Hats off to Grand Canyon, they controlled the entire second half. We were hoping that we were going to have one of those spurts of glory that we've seen in some other games. I believe that the pressure Grand Canyon put on our offense took us out of our game and more weaknesses were exposed for us.'
Midfielder Chase Miller said that the Cougars didn't like the outcome but that they have something to work on
'Last year we were the only team to beat them,' Miller said. 'I am very confident in my teammates and in our ability to win big games still. This loss is good for us because it'll help us work harder and go forward from here.'
BYU goes on the road next to face Colorado and Colorado State April 7 and 9. Their next home game will be April 21 against UVU.