Men’s club lacrosse 2-0 to start season, opens conference play Saturday
Spring is usually consumed by basketball, track and field, golf and tennis, but there’s one more Idaho sport making headlines this spring. The Idaho men’s lacrosse team may be a club sport, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t competitive or don’t have a large fan base.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
The Idaho offense and defense fight for the ball during practice Wednesday at the SprinTurf fields. Idaho plays Oregon State Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at the SprinTurf.
The Vandals opened the season last Saturday with a win over Western Michigan 15-12. They also beat Gonzaga 24-6 on Sunday. Approximately 500 fans attended Idaho’s first game of the season at the SprinTurf, according to Idaho coach Sammy Vogel-Seidenberg, and a similar number is expected this Saturday when Idaho opens conference play against Oregon State at 12:30 p.m. at the SprinTurf.
“We consider ourselves more of a virtual varsity program,” Vogel-Seidenberg said. “We do everything as what a Division III or Division II team would do, or even a Division I would do in terms to their on the field work, conditioning, practice-wise and even recruiting as well.”
The Vandals compete in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) instead of the NCAA, but Vogel-Seidenberg said many MCLA teams compete with and beat NCAA teams.
“It’s pretty high-level lacrosse,” he said. “You look at Boulder this year, they beat Adam State and Colorado-Mesa, which are both high-level D II teams, so it’s a very competitive conference that we play in.”
Idaho competes in the Division I section of the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (PNCLL), a league within the MCLA. The other teams in Idaho’s division include Simon Fraser, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, Boise State and Montana.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Senior goalie Craig Patrick defends against a shot during practice Wednesday at the SprinTurf fields. Idaho plays Oregon State Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at the SprinTurf.
It is the first conference game of the season for Idaho. The Vandals have never beat the Beavers, but Vogel-Seidenberg said he thinks Idaho has the team to beat them this year.
The 2014 season was Idaho’s best since the program started in 2004, and the team returns many of last season’s key players. The Vandals finished 7-7 in 2014.
One key returner and leader is attacker Colton Raichl. The senior is one of four team captains and one of only four players on the 24-player roster not originally from Idaho. He has more than 100 goals through his collegiate career.
“I just try to keep it light with the younger guys,” Raichl said. “I mean, it’s their first year playing college lacrosse so they still have three years ahead of them unlike me and a couple of the other guys. They’ve got the talent to (win), so they’ve just got to have the confidence … We’re a big family here, so it’s all good.”
One of the main differences between varsity and club sports is funding. The club receives some money from the university, but not near enough to cover the entire budget. The players also have to pay dues to play on the team and fundraise to help meet team costs. In addition, the textbook company, Chegg, is Idaho’s primary sponsor this year.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Junior attacker Blake Batman tosses a shot into the net during practice Wednesday at the SprinTurf fields. Idaho plays Oregon State Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at the SprinTurf.
“We got new jerseys this year and part of the reason we were able to do that was because of Chegg’s donation,” Vogel-Seidenberg said. “We definitely appreciated that and we try to get local sponsors as well.”
For those who don’t follow lacrosse, Vogel-Seidenberg said the sport is sort of a combination of basketball, soccer and hockey. He said while in hockey you can hit people, in lacrosse you can hit people with your sticks.
“It’s a fun, fast-paced sport,” Vogel-Seidenberg said. “It was the first American sport because it was a Native American sport originally, so it’s blowing up and been really popular lately. It’s nice to see a lot of fans come out and check us out.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]