The Vandal club lacrosse team fought through bitter winds and cold weather but earned a well-deserved victory against the Washington State Cougars Saturday, crushing their Palouse rivals 17-6. The game was the last home game of the season and a bittersweet victory for the seniors who will never play on the SprinTurf again as Vandals.
Curtis Ginnetti | Argonaut
Idaho club lacrosse players swarm a WSU attacker during the Vandals’ 17-6 win Saturday on the SprinTurf. The team concludes its season at Boise State.
The Vandals entered the game coming off of an eight-game losing streak dating back to their fourth game on March 2.
“The guys are hungry and want it,” coach Ben Frey said.
The game is only the second since the team made Frey, a senior, the head coach.
The Vandal men gained control of the game early, scoring four goals in the first quarter while holding the Cougars to zero. Idaho maintained the commanding lead throughout the game.
The Vandal domination continued to and through halftime as the Vandals scored another four goals by the half while holding the Cougars to only one.
During the third quarter the Cougars tried to make a comeback and scored early on. But the drive did not last as the Vandals turned the momentum around with three unanswered goals, two coming within a minute apart from each other.
The Vandals’ spirits were running high while the crowd sung along with the fight song as the game entered the fourth quarter with the Vandals leading 13-4.
Idaho’s domination continued throughout the last quarter of the game as the Vandals scored four more goals while holding the Cougars to only two.
As the final horn bellowed out signaling the end of the game the Vandal crowd erupted as the seniors walked off of the SprinTurf as players for the last time.
“It meant the world to me to win this game, it was the last home game of the season and it was a great feeling to beat our cross border rivals,” senior Kyle Morse said.
As part of the school’s Moms Weekend festivities, the lacrosse team hosted two fundraisers to raise money to help out with next year’s travel expenses.
“We travel around the country with money from our own pocket, this year we traveled all around the Northwest and even went down to California and will be doing so again next year,” Frey said.
The fundraiser consisted of two parts. It included a Frisbee toss during halftime and a raffle to win a three-day trip to Riverhouse Resort in Oregon.
The team members spent the week selling mini Frisbees around campus for the Chuck-A-Frisbee Fundraiser. At halftime, the contestants lined up and tried to throw their respective Frisbees into a small ring. The windy day made the contest a close call with the winner coming from the only Frisbee to make into the ring. The winner and recipient of the $300 gift certificate to Les Schwab was Idaho junior Tom Hennessey.
Curtis Ginnetti can be reached at [email protected]