No team in BYU men’s lacrosse history has ever held an opponent scoreless.
That is, until BYU recorded a 30-0 win over the University of Nevada, Reno on Friday.
Holding an opponent scoreless at the collegiate level is extremely rare in lacrosse and requires a team to be firing on all cylinders. BYU was able to do exactly that Friday night.
The Cougars dominated time of possession, won 68.6% of faceoffs, recovered 62 groundballs, and implemented their high-powered offense and lockdown defense almost flawlessly.
Seventeen different Cougars scored goals, with attackmen Gavin Taylor, Dallin Johnson, Cade Kirschner, Mason Quick, and Logan Tucker leading the way.
Long stick midfielder, Taylor Crump praised the Cougar’s offense.
“Well, (the offense is) everything because we play less. Playing less defense is huge, but also... (the offense) controlling the ball," he said. "Again, time of possession is everything, especially when it comes to a shutout.”
In addition to the Cougars' efficient offense, the defensive chemistry was on full display.
Short stick defensive midfielder Dylan Johnson brought it back to the team culture when asked about the defensive unit.
“Well, for us, I really think it's the type of team culture that we've built this year, specifically,” said Johnson. “This is something we've been looking forward for a long time, and I really just think it says to the connection we have as a group of guys and the friendship we have.”
Crump added, “Getting after it for 60 minutes is huge, and just the ability to stay focused for that long is everything. Not letting in a single goal (has) never happened to BYU lacrosse before, and I think that's exactly why.”
BYU played four goalies, who all recorded a 100% save rate. Freshman Isaac Hanson got the start in place of an injured Easton Wilkey once again. Hanson led all goalies with five saves. Goalies Zion Alburo, Benjamin Long, and Lincoln Robison also recorded four saves between them.
“(The) goalies played phenomenal,” said Johnson. “And then on top of that, we played with another level of grit and hard work tonight and just got after it.”
Johnson added, “I think (the shutout) gives us a lot of momentum, a lot of confidence in ourselves, and in our team, and in those around us.”
Head coach Matt Schneck was pleased with the way his team played for sixty minutes.
“I just think it was a great team effort all around. I think they showed great respect to the other team, as well, which was good and super important,” said Schneck. “I think (what) was more important than the shutout was that they were just playing solid.”
BYU’s momentum and confidence carried over into their next game against Oregon on Saturday, with BYU winning 19-9.
Before the game against BYU, Oregon was outscoring their opponents by an average of 19.5 points on the season. However, the Cougars led the entire game, held Oregon to a season low 9 points, as well as handing the Ducks their first loss of the season.
BYU built a quick 5-0 lead in the first quarter with goals from Hutton Murphy and Taylor and went into halftime with an 11-4 lead.
Hanson filled in nicely for Wilkey once again. He recorded 17 saves and a 65.4 save percentage.
BYU improved to 5-0 on the season, while Nevada and Oregon dropped to 0-5 and 4-1, respectively.
The Cougars travel to Boise, Idaho to face Boise State on Friday at 3:30 p.m.