Out of the frying pan and into the post season: A look at the remainder of the NGU Lacrosse season
Andrew Davidson, Staff Writer
North Greenville University’s Men’s Lacrosse team is gaining momentum as they head into the final three matches of the year.
The crusaders faced some adversity during the first half of the season, picking up six losses to nationally ranked teams. The boys have turned around since spring break with dominant wins against Chowan, Lees McRae and Anderson University.
“We’ve got a good group of players and people, and I’m excited to continue getting better the more we play. We’ve taken a ‘this is a new chapter’ approach to the season since our Spring Break, and I think our guys have bought into that,” said Head Coach Corey Struss.
The crusaders’ most recent matchup was against the trojans of Anderson University, ranked #10 nationally. They came out and dominated in the first half of the match, scoring five goals to Anderson’s zero. Both teams tied scoring in the next two quarters, closing the game with NGU on top 10-5.
The top offensive contributors to the match were Freshman Jared Steinman with three goals, and Ayden Sizemore with two. Though Anderson led with 43 shots, NGU goalkeeper Joe Amici recorded nineteen saves with only five goals allowed.
With this dominant win, NGU will move on to play another huge conference match against the trojans of Mount Olive University.
With a three-way tie for second place and only seven teams in conference, this is a must-win match.
Even though this match is away, the crusaders are confident that they will be able to pull off their fourth win in a row.
“It will just be another opportunity to prove ourselves that we are capable of achieving our goals. We have won there, we have lost there, so I don’t think the atmosphere will be too much of an impact,” said Struss.
With the conference tournament looming in the distance, NGU is hoping for a rematch with first place Belmont Abbey College, after falling to them 6-14.
One thing Struss said he hopes to change is to score the ball more efficiently, which the crusaders have been executing well in the last three matches. They are also looking to minimize fundamental errors, as well as mental errors in the heat of the moment.
With only three matches left in the regular season, the crusaders’ have discovered that they are strong when they play together according to Struss.
“I think our strengths lie in our ‘togetherness’. I believe we have the leadership in place that will prohibit anything that could affect the team negatively and/or jeopardize our opportunities to win games. We simply have a great group of people, and we are working on lacrosse daily,” said Struss.
There are a few key players fans should be looking out for as NGU looks to close out their season. Senior Lucas Yearwood and Sophomore Tristan Stephenson have been flexible, playing different positions when needed. Freshman Jared Steinman and Sophomore Nathan Bucey have stepped up to be offensive weapons in recent matches.
NGU lacrosse will have their final home game against Barton on April 15 at noon.
“It will be a battle. They are certainly in the top half of our conference and have been nipping at our heels for the past few years. We want to leave no doubt that we are moving – full speed ahead – towards a conference championship,” said Struss.
