There’s no doubt, home field
advantage will come into play.
The Simon Fraser University
Clan men’s field lacrosse team won’t be sad if the weather turns wet and grey this weekend when they host the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League.
Terry Fox field on Burnaby Mountain is the site where both Div. 1 and Div. 2 championships will be decided.
SFU head coach Brent Hoskins sizes up his squad as Div. 1 contenders who have both youth and experience on their side.
“I look at this team and I really
like the leadership we get. We’ve got a good core of seniors but we also have a strong mix of freshmen and sophomores,” said Hoskins. “Most championship teams we’ve had were more senior-laden, so we’re ahead of the curve, I think.”
SFU tied with
Oregon for first place in conference play with a 5-1 record, but due to head-to-head action had to settle for second place, after suffering a 15-8 loss earlier in the season. The latest national poll had Oregon ranked 14th and SFU 23rd.
In the 22 years that SFU has competed on the PNCLL circuit, it has achieved champion status nine times. Hoskins would like nothing more than to make it 10.
He has the horses to do it, led by Burnaby siblings Jeremy and Jordan Lasher.
The brothers, both seniors, are major pieces to the puzzle as the Clan looks to end a two-year conference title drought.
Jeremy is the team’s starting goalkeeper, having appeared in all 12 games and posted an 8.16 goals against average.
Jordan, meanwhile, is one of the club’s co-captains as a midfielder who often joins the rush to create offensive havoc for the opposition.
The two Burnaby South alumni
contribute at opposite ends of the pitch and were key to the club’s 8-4 overall record.
“(Jeremy) has really been the glue with our defensive group,” noted
Hoskins. “He was a freshman, I
believe, when we last won (the
PNCLL in 2014) title and was the backup when we went to nationals. ... He’s a very personable guy, a real competitor who loves to talk to his teammates and get them pumped up.”
His one-year-older brother works in tandem with co-captain Jordan Stroup to set a tone and keep the first and second-year players on course.
“(Jordan and Stroup) are the heart and soul of our leadership group,” said the coach. “(Jordan) has emerged more as an offensive threat as his career has progressed.”
He has tallied 11 goals and 14
assists over 12 games, often moving up into the play as SFU freewheels its midfielders to bolster the attack.
That approach has also paid dividends with offensive contributions from two other Burnaby natives, Jordan Gabriele and Iain Vickars.
Gabriele, a sophomore, notched eight goals in 12 games, while Vickars, in his fourth year, potted seven in 10 contests.
When it comes to grit factor, the personification of that for SFU is another Burnaby native, Tyler Kirkby.
The slick attackman has shown the offensive finish in his fourth year, two years removed from being sidelined after tearing his ACL playing box lacrosse. Kirkby has demonstrated a goal scorer’s confidence as the season marches on, counting six goals in the team’s last game. That put the Burnaby South alumnus 37 in 12 games, to go along with 20 assists. He sits second on the team in goals, behind Greg Lunde’s 41, and first in points.
“This year he’s gotten back to the level of success that he’s shown over his lacrosse career, and then some,” said Hoskins. “He’s always been a great offensive player but to sit out a season and rehab his knee was difficult.”
Facing No. 3-seed Oregon State on Saturday (7 p.m.), the Clan aim to repeat a 9-4 decision struck two weeks ago. A spot in Sunday’s (2 p.m. at Terry Fox Field) final is the end goal.
“Definitely, our goal is always to win a conference title and compete nationally,” said Hoskins. “That’s where the bar is set. But we play in a relatively tough conference, so it’s a challenge, a real challenge, to be the last team standing.”
