Anything but a two-game road sweep this weekend would be a disappointment for the Idaho lacrosse team.
Idaho (0-0) will make the 18-hour road trip to the California Bay Area to open its season against UC Davis (1-1, 0-1 WCLL) Saturday and San Jose State (0-0) Sunday. Coach John Andrysiak said the goal for the back-to-back season-opener is to return to Moscow with two wins.
“We’ve prepared ourselves well enough to be able to go 2-0 this weekend. I think we’re in the right position to do so,” Andrysiak said. “Anything less than that, I think, is a failure.”
Goalie Blake Uphus agreed with his coach and said he believes a road sweep is realistic.
“Hopefully we’ll focus on what we’ve done in practice and then execute that in the games,” Uphus said. “If we can get some solid team play and play two really good teams close, it would be a good weekend.”
Uphus said the team hasn’t scouted UC Davis or San Jose State much, instead the team is focusing on what it needs to do from within to be successful. Andrysiak and attackman John Kopke said while the majority of the preparation is focused executing the Idaho’s play, they understand the strengths of UC Davis.
“We’ve looked up the guys who are their scorers and who are going to make the plays on their team,” Kopke said.
Andrysiak and the team are preparing for the attack UC Davis will employ on the shoulders of Aggie attackman Marshall Bowden and midfielder Brett Zeolla.
“There’s a couple good players on their team we’re going to key in on,” Andrysiak said. “They tend to not to come off the field … the entire game. They switch back from middy (midfielder) and attack(man) during the game … they’re really their only two big players.”
Preparation for the road has been difficult for a number of reasons, Andrysiak said. He said Idaho will be San Jose State’s first opponent of the season, so understanding the weaknesses and strengths of the Spartans is almost impossible.
“Mostly we prepare for UC Davis just because we know they’re the better of the two squads,” Andrysiak said. “If we can play up to their level, then we know that we should be able to play the same way against San Jose State.”
Uphus said traveling long distances is rough on the team especially because everything is different — weather, location and even sleeping in a different bed.
The more than 900-mile trip will undoubtedly tax the Vandals, but Andrysiak said travel will not affect Idaho as much as the sporadic practice schedule and temperature changes his team will face this semester for some road games. The team typically practices late in the evening — sometimes as late as 10 p.m. on the SprinTurf.
“These guys are in sweatshirts and pants in their pads … to go down there (California) … you’re shedding all your layers and you’re sweating more than you would here just because it’s 60 degrees,” Andrysiak said. “And not only that but the snow has kind of hurt us a little with the first week of practice … there’s nothing we can do when it snows 17 inches.”
He said it is simply what the team deals with each semester and there isn’t much anyone can do about it. Kopke and Uphus, both seniors, are accustomed to long road trips and adverse practice conditions.
“We switched over to a new offense this season and as long as we work together as a whole, I think that’s going to be the key to our success,” Kopke said.
Uphus agreed and said he is working to improve technically.
“I’m tying to get my footwork a lot better,” Uphus said. “Quicker feet, quicker hands as well. One of my weaknesses has been my footwork.”
Andrysiak said correctly executed team play and solid individual play can make the team successful, but Idaho’s weakness lies in its youth. He said UC Davis and San Jose State will likely exploit Idaho’s inexperience throughout the midfield.
Conversely, Andrysiak said Idaho’s attack can be successful against both squads with the help of Kopke and 6-foot-6-inch attackman Deric Wilson.
“Our biggest threat is our attackmen,” Andrysiak said. “We have a 6-6 guy who has a lefty shot at 95 miles an hour. And again our senior attackman John Kopke … basically like the general leading the troops.”
Idaho will return from the non-conference contests and have two weeks to prepare for its next game March 3 at Portland State. Idaho will not play its first conference game until March 24 at Montana and will not play at home until April 21 against Boise State.