Dave Adams/USLIA.comThe average college student’s knowledge of lacrosse goes only about as deep as Chris ‘Oz’ Ostreicher’s personality in American Pie. If the sensitive jock/heartthrob played by Chris Klein couldn’t get through to you, though, have no fear.
The 31 members of Washington University’s club lacrosse team will be more than willing to fill you in on the finer details of their sport.
Two members of the team who have seen it all throughout the years are senior co-captain Bobby Dudley and club president Adam Schickedanz. As four-year members of the squad, Dudley and Schickedanz have witnessed WU lacrosse go from a fledgling unit in only its third year of existence to a playoff presence last season to a regional powerhouse this year.
“The reason this season is so promising is that we have ten guys who can take control of the game,” Dudley said. “Trying to shut down one guy just opens the door for the rest of us to exploit their mistakes.”
“[Junior co-captain] Kevin Steigerwald is playing great middle defense and picking up tons of face-off ground balls,” Schickedanz added. “[Goalie] Chris Houston is still a sick shot blocker. Last year’s whole starting close defense is back this spring, so take your pick.”
So far, WU is 4-3 in the United States Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates (USLIA) and an undefeated 3-0 in their region, the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference (GRLC), which boasts teams such as Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, Missouri and Nebraska.
Saturday’s 19-2 stomping of conference foe Illinois State at the Anheuser-Busch Conference & Sports Center typified the depth and experience that the Bears possess this season.
Nine different goal scorers and solid team defense put this contest out of reach from the get-go.
“They had trouble getting their shots because they weren’t seeing their open players,” Schicke-danz said.
“The offense just pumped in goals during what we dubbed the ‘Shock and Awe’ phase, which lasted all game.”
“The balance we showed in scoring and solid team defense was very satisfying to see today,” head coach Troy Hood told USLIA.com. “We don’t get a chance to practice much together as a team due to academic and other commitments. All in all, I’m quite happy with the progress of the team right now.”
The win gives WU the opportunity to clinch a playoff berth with a victory over Saint Louis University on Thursday.
“Prospects for making playoffs are extremely good,” Schickedanz said. “We expect to make nationals this year, given that our stiffest competition in-conference is Illinois and Mizzou-two teams we beat last year and this fall-and the winner of our conference moves on to the nationals by an automatic bid.”
The club began its season with a 1-0 victory over the University of Mississippi and a heart-breaking 11-10 defeat at the hands of Emory University in a pair of Feb.15 match ups in Atlanta, Ga.
“[In the game against Emory], we came back and tied the score at 10 with 1:30 left to play,” Hood said in his online coach’s corner. “After repeated attempts to score, the Emory goalie picked up the ball and threw a desperation pass down field. Their attackman picked up the ball and scored the winner with :01 second left.”
Spring break was equally challenging for the Bears. They faced three top 25 teams in a span of three days, and walked away with a 1-2 record. They were defeated by the No. 15 Florida Gators 11-7 on Mar. 2. The Bears then recovered to defeat No. 10-ranked Virginia Tech 7-4, before losing to No. 16 Auburn 11-4.
“We pretty much viewed our spring break trip as a warm-up. Although the games don’t count towards our conference play, they were essential because the teams we played represent the competition we expect to see in the national tournament in May,” Dudley said. “The fact that we matched up against three top 25 teams served as a ‘trial by fire,’ forcing us to get our act together quickly.”
Last weekend, the Bears returned home to easily defeat conference rival Western Illinois by a margin 23-2.
“Western Illinois is a growing program that has good athletes but not a lot of experience playing teams of a national caliber,” Dudley said. “They played a very simple style game, and our guys are smart enough players to see their weak spots and take advantage.”
Other WU players making large contributions this season include sophomore attackman Alden Lury, who has put up impressive numbers since his move from midfielder (22 goals, 10 assists) and Houston, who has proven himself to be the best goalie in the GRLC, as well as one of the top keepers in the nation.
“In the end,” Dudley said. “Our team just has too many ways to beat them.”