Saturday February 11 saw Men's Lacrosse fall to Sierra Nevada 4-23. The Spartan roster is much smaller this year than anticipated with only 11 regular members. In a game with running like soccer, and action like hockey that can take it's toll with the 30+ bench of the Sierra Nevada crew ultimately taking its toll.
Goalie,
Alexandre Gallardo (Alex), had 5 saves in the first quarter but not even that could stop the first quarter lead Sierra Nevada took with 7 unanswered goals. The Spartan defense started too loose and lacked the cohesiveness they will need moving forward in the season. Offensively the Spartans only had one shot on cage the first quarter, and lacked offensive possession. The second quarter saw Alex Gallardo save 9 of 16 shots and saw goals from
George Pertessis and
Nickolas Egan. The offense did a better job possessing and moving the ball and the defense tightened up. The score was 14-3 at the close of the first half.
With the Spartan defense beginning to find their stride, quarter 3 saw Alex Gallardo save 3 of 6 from Sierra Nevada. The defense had better communication and played tighter overall. The Spartan offense only scored 1 with bobbled passes and rushed clears preventing scoring opportunities from forming. In the final quarter the Sierra Nevada Eagles scored their final 6 goals, the deep roster taking it's toll on the 12 man Spartan crew.
It was a tough defeat for the Spartans. The Sierra Nevada Eagles have remained undefeated in league play over the last 3 years and were League Champions for the last 2 years. The SJSU Spartans will host Cal State San Marcos Saturday, February 18 at 6:00pm, and Gonzaga, Sunday, February 19 at 1:00pm, at a neutral site.
