Men's LAX Spring Break Diary: Through Game One Loss to Goucher

It was a beautiful March morning on the Whittier College campus as the men's lacrosse team gathered at the Graham Athletics Center for a 3,000-mile trek across the country.  It was 7:00am, and while some seemed to feel the effects of the early start, there was excitement in the air as they loaded the bus and prepared for four games on the East Coast. 

It was a long day of travel on Thursday.  The hour-long bus ride to LAX, the daunting task of 30 tired lacrosse players checking in with a long airport line, the two-hour layover in Denver, the three-hour cross-country flight and finally the hour-long bus ride to the hotel.  But the team's mood remained light, partly because of the constant comic relief provided by senior captain Chuck Wagner's new mustache/slicked back hair makeover, and the high quality of assistant coach Brian Kelly's miracle jet-lag pills.

Friday is game day, and the men are reenergized and looking forward to game time.  Bob Evans provides a delicious breakfast to fuel the team for their battle later that afternoon, and after an hour or two of mental preparation, they load the bus and head to Goucher.

The team's intensity level was high throughout warm-ups with constant "Do Work!" chants echoing throughout the stadium as the players and coaches referred to their season motto. 

Goucher matched the Poets intensity out of the gates and scored the first goal of the game just two and a half minutes in.  Anthony Lackey '09 got his tremendous day started just forty-five seconds later, when he put one past the Gopher goalie after receiving a pretty feed from Christian Wright '10.  The Poets took the lead at the 9:04 mark when Lackey assisted Kevin McCarroll '08.  It was the only time Whittier would lead in the game.

Goucher got their man-up assault started with 6:34 left in the first to tie the score at two.  They would score four times with an extra man throughout the game, three times in the first period alone.  A four-goal Gopher run closed the first quarter and left the Poets with a 5-2 deficit to overcome.

The Gophers continued to pour it on, however, and netted two quick goals in the opening 1:24 of the second quarter.  Whittier goalie, Ben Brown '09 and the Poet defense closed the door for the remainder of first half to give Whittier an opportunity to cut into the now five-goal Gopher advantage. 

Whittier did just that, as Matt Mulry '09 scored an extra-man goal at the 11:35 mark to make it 7-3.  It was almost eleven minutes before either team found the net again.  Lackey found the net again with just under a minute left in the half to make it 7-4 as the halftime whistle sounded. 

Goucher controlled play in the third quarter, scoring three more in the first six minutes of the third.  Whittier got one goal with 8:29 on the scoreboard thanks to a goal by Wright and another Lackey assist.  But Goucher came back with one more, giving themselves an 11-5 cushion heading into the final stanza. 

It was time for the Poets to "Do Work!" down by six goals in the fourth.  Lackey continued to carry the load, scoring unassisted goals with 10:42 and 6:06 to cut the lead to 11-7.  The Poet defense stayed strong again, shutting out the Goucher offense in the fourth, but the deficit was too much for Whittier to overcome.  Ben Barchey '09 found Wagner for another score with four minutes left in the game to make the score 11-8; it was the final goal of the game. 

Lackey finished with four goals and three assists.  Brown had another double-digit saves game between the pipes, stopping 12 Goucher shots.  Goucher peppered the Whittier cage with 33 shots in the game.  The biggest factor was the ground ball battle, as Goucher picked up 52 to the Poets' 22.  Coupled with the slight 13-9 face-off edge for the Gophers, and their huge edge in possession decided the game.

"We played hard, but we just couldn't bounce back after the slow start," said second-year head coach Nate Watkins.  "The big challenge for the rest of the trip will be to execute better on offense, and let the game come to us."

It was just the first of four games on the spring break trip, but the early loss makes the remaining games that much more important for the Poets and their hopes of an NCAA playoff berth.  Up next, Whittier plays Roanoke College on March 30 at 4:00pm EST.  Without question, it is time for the Poets men's lacrosse team to rise to the occasion and "Do Work!"