Bobby Martinez – Sports Reporter
Coming of 3-8 record last spring, Owls men’s lacrosse team is searching for answers this pre-season in hopes to reach their ultimate destination; California for the 2015 D-II Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) National Championship.
Since 2011, Under Head Coach Anthony Loricco, the Owls have managed to win only three games (3-33). Last season, the Owls reached their highest win total going 3-8 and 1-3 in their conference which is the Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse league (PCLL).
Clifford Bray III, who plays on the defense, said this year’s team has a lot of new faces who are expected to make major contributions to the team.
I could never think of a better group of people I could finish my college lax career with pic.twitter.com/GMowOqmllP
— Patrick Cooney (@CoachCaligula1) September 28, 2014
“We got five new freshmen this year,” said Bray. “I think they will be a pretty good asset to our team. We had a good amount of seniors who left so hopefully everyone steps up this season.”
With their actual season that begins in spring 2015, the Owls are currently in fall ball where they have been playing teams such as University of Bridgeport Knights and Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils (CCSU).
In preparation for their matchup against CCSU, sophomore defensive player Alfred Valentine, said his team has reviewed previous game tapes to see what they can do to improve as a team and sneak out a win.
“We went over some film from other games to try and see what we can do better,” said Valentine. “We also had a meeting where we talked about leadership and team bonding and off the field.”
When it comes to team bonding, Valentine added, “we got to lead by example.”
The Owls opened their 2014 season on the road at the Catholic University Cardinal Stadium, against George Washington University Colonials where they loss 18-4. The Owls were outshot by the Colonials 59-23.
The Owls next opponent was against Coastal Carolina where they dropped their second consecutive game, 12-4. But things changed in the Owls next game against Bridgewater State College Bears. Despite being outshot against the Bears 37-29, the Owls sneaked away with a 9-6.
The Owls would drop the next four games where they allowed an average of 13 points a game versus their eight. Trying to get back to winning ways, the Owls won two consecutive games starting with a scrimmage that didn’t count as an original game against SUNY-Purchase College 14-2. They would then play Framingham State University Rams that did count as an actual game 11-6.
Bray III said his team focus in fall ball is to improve daily as a team and take every chance possible to work on each other’s game.
“I just want to see us do better than we did last year,” said Bray III. “We had a lot of tough losses that were heartbreaking to the team. We have to do whatever we can to try and improve not only individually, but also a team if we plan on winning more games this season.”
Bray III continued by saying, “As of right now, we’re in fall ball. It started off slow because we had new guys who joined the team. But they good thing is that we get to see how they contribute to the team and also how we are as a team by playing other schools before the season starts.”
On a positive note, the Owls closed out their 2014 season with two wins, one being a scrimmage against the Knights where they won 15-4, followed by a win against the Blue Devils 12-6. In reality, if the scrimmages the Owls played counted as a win, the Owls would’ve finished with a record of 5-8.
As the Owls continue to play out fall ball in preparation for their 2015 season, they will have wait some time until the PCLL releases the conferences schedule.
Photo Credit: Patrick Cooney
