Vandal lacrosse fell in overtime of the championship game against Boise State 5-6 Sunday at the Gem State Tournament in Boise.
The Vandals competed in two matches on both Saturday and Sunday, and when the dust settled they finished 2-2, a disappointing result after their sweep of the Missoula tournament last weekend.
“Our first day we played a little sloppy and didn’t take care of the ball as well as we should have,” coach John Andrysiak said. “Sunday was a completely different day and seemed like the guys came ready to play and were focused on the task at hand.”
On Saturday, the Vandals defeated Utah State 10-6 and fell to in-state rival Boise State 13-8.
Idaho earned a spot in the championship by defeating Montana State in a close 6-4 match-up Sunday morning. Facing a BSU team they had lost to the previous day, the Vandals pushed it to overtime but lost in the end.
Even with the loss Andrysiak felt like the club got something valuable from the tournament and is happy with where he thinks the team is headed.
“We have a solid core group of guys who believe in the overall goal, which is to trust in every person on the team,” Andrysiak said. “This team is headed in the right direction, and I would say that as we continue to play more, our chemistry and trust will improve.”
Sophomore midfielder Colin Cain, said they have to stick to the plan and believe in what their coaches are telling them.
“If we buy into what the coaches say and what our system is supposed to be like, we will find great success,” Cain said. “The more that individual comes before the rest, we will just be taking steps back in progress.”
Andrysiak said he saw a lot of things he liked this weekend and in particular he was happy with the team chemistry he saw on the field and gained further insight into the level of talent they have on the team. A few players really stepped up this weekend, he said.
“Without our face-off specialist Mykeal Wheeler and players like John Kopke on offense and Ben Frey on defense we would have struggled quite a bit more,” Andrysiak said.
Vandal lacrosse has a month off before they see action again at the Oregon Fall Classic on Nov. 5 and 6. Andrysiak said fall is a time for developing the team and the Fall Classic marks the last chance before the real season begins.
“Fall is a time for us to see what talent we have and what kind of players are on our team, so when we move into our actual season in the spring we are ready to go,” Andrysiak said. “I think it was important to see that even in tough times we can rise above as a team and succeed by leaning on one another.”