The Plattsburgh State lacrosse team has started its season by winning four out of its first six matches.
Coming off of a game which they played well, but ended up picking losing to Middlebury College, 17-10, and after racking up a pair of wins over spring break against Eastern Connecticut State, 17-7, and New England College, 15-8, the Cards feel good about how they have been playing, and plan to continue its positive momentum as the games come to them.
“I like that we have a quick turnaround,” head coach Joe May said about the team coming off the loss against Middlebury. “We’re not happy that we lost, but we’re not going to dwell on that forever. We’re going to use it as motivation to move forward.”
May has noted in the past how important securing possessions are, and that the team needs to work on its work on ground balls in order to secure games against tough opponents like Middlebury. In the game against Middlebury, the Cards secured 21 less ground balls than the Panthers, 52-31, and lost 25 out of 29 face-offs, which proved to be costly as well.
“The biggest thing that we need to work on is picking the ball up off the ground,” May said. “It comes down to wanting it more, and working your butt off for it. We came up short in those aspects.”
Despite the unpredictable weather conditions, the Cards are used to playing in the frigid weather even when the calendar declares it to be spring.
“It is what it is,” May said about the weather. “If you can’t handle it, then you probably can’t handle the sport. To us, it’s just like any other day, and we’ll make the most out of it.”
The Cards continue to perform well in practice because of how much it directly translates to how they perform in-game.
“Our coaches do a great job scouting for us, so we like to watch a lot of film and study our opponents in order to help us perform,” junior goalie Austin Graham said. “Practice makes perfect, and we keep getting better every day.”
Looking ahead, the Cards still have another non-conference game to play before SUNYAC play starts.
“Our next game will be against RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), which is a team we haven’t beaten since I’ve been here, so we really want to beat them on the road,” Graham said. “We have a lot of games left to prove ourselves, and we still have a lot to work for as a team.”
Fellow junior, midfielder Brad Johnston believes that since the team is loaded with talent from that it gives the Cards an edge against most opponents they play.
“Being gritty and playing unselfishly is something we focus on a lot,” Johnston said. “The great thing about our team is that we are so deep with talent, and even the guys who don’t get a lot of playing time gives us great looks. We’re all brothers here, and none of us are afraid of making mistakes. We have a really strong support system, and with the amount of experience on the team, everybody is willing to help out.”
Wednesday March 29, 4 p.m., the Cards will look to pull away from RPI with a victory against a team that has historically been a thorn in their side.
“I think we owe these guys something,” Johnston said. “We really want to hand it to them, especially to a team that has traditionally given us a tough time.”
Email Ezra Kachaturian at sports@cardinalpointsonline.com
