Grizzly club lacrosse team prevails over Idaho, WSU

The University of Montana men’s lacrosse team managed to squash several runs by the opposition and overcome a rash of penalties as it defeated the University of Idaho 16-9 Sunday.

A smattering of Montana fans made their way out to Riverbowl Field on the UM campus and looked on as the Grizzlies potent and balanced offense struggled at first, then figured out the Idaho zone defense in time to earn the victory and the chance to control their own destiny as the playoffs loom. 

With just one more league game remaining, UM can now seal a playoff spot with a win against Boise State when the Broncos come to town on April 19. 

After throttling a hapless Washington State team 27-0 on Saturday, Montana was able to keep Idaho at bay long enough and push its record to 8-3, 6-3 in the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League.

Sunday’s action started with Montana surging out of the gate and taking a 5-0 lead on goals from Tucker Sargent, Sam Cameron, Townsend Hall and Jake Bagley.

Despite the quick start, the zone defense employed by the Vandals (1-5, 0-3 PNCLL) started working and made the Montana offense look sluggish at times. 

“They slowed us down a little more than we expected,” said Sargent, a sophomore midfielder who finished the game with two goals and bumped his season total to 23. “We started clicking when guys found the gap in the middle and we hit them for easy goals.”

Although he came into the game with only nine goals, attacker Krieger Shaw of Idaho tried to single-handedly put his team back in the game as he scored four of the Vandals first five goals. 

With halftime quickly approaching, and Montana getting shots on goal with nothing to show for it, junior attacker/midfielder captain Sam Cameron scored on a diving goal in traffic to stop the Idaho run at the 6:50 mark in the second quarter. Hall assisted the key goal that made the score 7-4 and gave Montana some much-needed breathing room.

The defense was hampered by penalties, but did enough clogging of the middle to put a halt to the Idaho offense. 

“We kept the ball out of the middle, and we were able to keep the defense tight from the start,” Hall said. 

The halftime score was 8-5 and as the two teams took the field for the second half, Montana locked down defensively, but under some strange circumstances. 

After another quick goal after the face-off by Sargent, the two teams jockeyed back and forth before freshman attacker Jason Keck scored on a spectacular diving goal that was then taken away.

The referee said the ball was stuck in the pocket, thus making the stick illegal, and Keck was sent to the penalty box for three minutes. Montana was forced to play with one less player on the field.

“Stuff like that can go both ways,” Montana coach Kevin Flynn said. “Usually the defense gets really jacked for a man down, but sometimes it’s a disadvantage, so fortunately we were able to lock down.”

Idaho tried to capitalize on its advantage on the field, but managed to only score one goal during the man-down penalty situation. It looked as if the momentum was about to shift, but Idaho couldn’t quite muster enough offense and Montana’s defense made a key stand with the help of several tough saves by goalie Colin Connery. 

Montana proceeded to hold Idaho scoreless for about the equivalent of a full quarter and padded their score steadily with two goals from attacker Zander Ault, a goal from Bagley and a swooping goal in which Keck hid the ball for the longest possible time before firing it into the net.  Sam Cameron also added his fourth goal of the day. 

The defense however, was the story after halftime. 

“We tightened up a lot in the second half,” Flynn said.  “Sometimes it takes just one or two guys to step up and get the rest of the team rolling defensively.”

Despite having more than twice as many penalties as Idaho, Montana was able to hold off a late rally by the Vandals and finish the game with a 16-9 score. 

“We spread it around a lot and got a lot of doorstep goals,” Bagley said. “Our man-down (situation) did a great job and allowed us to stay in the game.”

Montana will be heading east to face the University of New Hampshire and Northeastern University to gain respect and, with a good showing, a better chance at an at large bid to the national tournament. 

Sunday’s game was a necessary win for Montana, and with Simon Fraser and Oregon taking the top two spots in the playoffs, the team could potentially claim a No. 3 seed. 

“This was just another step for us,” Hall said. “We’ve been known to peak late, so it’s very important that we get better each week.”