The Cougars won the 2007 National Championship so a rivalry with Michigan has grown over the last two years.
The Cougars won all but five of their 21 games last season. Two of the losses were against the University of Michigan, who beat them once in the regular season and again in the semifinals at the National Championship. Michigan went on to win the National Championship.
“Our defense didn’t play up to its potential against Chapman last year,” Sabey said. “It was a really close game … it was back and forth the whole time and we lost by only one goal. I’m looking forward to that rematch.”
http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/70653
The BYU men’s lacrosse team has a tough season ahead of it with the opportunity to redeem itself against the teams they lost to last season.
The Cougars won all but five of their 21 games last season. Two of the losses were against the University of Michigan, who beat them once in the regular season and again in the semifinals at the National Championship. Michigan went on to win the National Championship.
The Cougars will get a rematch against the reigning national champs and two other teams they lost to last season, Chapman University and University of Minnesota Duluth.
“We’re always excited to get another chance at playing teams we’ve lost to,” junior attacker Jeremy Rife said. “We’ve created strong rivalries with these teams and we are definitely looking forward to a rematch.”
The Cougars won the 2007 National Championship so a rivalry with Michigan has grown over the last two years.
One of the things Rife believes the team has improved on since last season is its defense. After two straight national appearances the Cougars are seasoned and experienced. Returning defensemen Paul Sabey, Britton Cone, Taylor Redd and Dan Crawforth will contribute to a strong Cougar defense this season. The defense will also receive help from a Division I transfer from University of North Carolina, Jason Arias.
Sabey agrees the team will have a great defense this year and is eager to prove it in their rematch against Chapman.
“Our defense didn’t play up to its potential against Chapman last year,” Sabey said. “It was a really close game … it was back and forth the whole time and we lost by only one goal. I’m looking forward to that rematch.”
Last year’s game was played at Chapman’s home field in California so the rematch will take place on Cougar territory this year on April 10.
The Cougars first scheduled game this season is a round-robin tournament with Utah Valley University and University of Utah on Jan. 31.
Despite fast growth in the sport across the Western U.S., youth lacrosse teams have been hard-pressed to find tournaments within convenient travel distance. To meet this need, the Utah Lacrosse Association (ULA) launched the Ski Town Shoot Out in 2005.
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