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The Inquirer

The student news site of Diablo Valley College.

The Inquirer

The student news site of Diablo Valley College.

The Inquirer

LAX leaves tourney 2-1

The DVC lacrosse team came away from the Santa Clara University Tournament on Saturday 2-1 to give them a 7-3 record on the season.

The Vikings’ first opponent of the tournament would also be their toughest: the highly regarded Santa Clara Broncos. While the Vikings had emerged victorious the last time the two met, a combination of the Broncos’ fierce offense and the Vikings’ lack of team cohesion resulted in a close 5-7 loss.

Things seemed promising at the start for the Vikings, with midfielder Gavin Cooke scoring the game’s first goal. The Vikings’ defense continued to be the team’s strength, holding off the Broncos’ offense for most of the first half.

After a DVC penalty led to them playing a man down, Santa Clara was able to match DVC with a goal of their own. Both teams scored again to bring the score 2-2 at the end of the first half.

Halftime allowed coach Dean Wallahan to address key issues in the Vikings’ offense and revitalize them to play at a higher level. The previous two games against Sierra College and Pacific had failed to truly challenge the Vikings, with Santa Clara being the first team since Simon Fraser to push the DVC offense.

Santa Clara scored twice within the first five minutes and despite two back-to-back goals from the Vikings, the Broncos would take advantage of DVC’s failure to win ground balls and settle possession of the ball to score twice more. A combination of the Broncos’ defense and the Vikings’ offense would result in another Santa Clara goal, ending the game 5-7, Broncos.

Determined to bounce back, the Vikings entered their next game against Santa Cruz with renewed vigor. However, while the Banana Slugs were not as competitive a team, the Vikings still struggled to find their footing, scoring only three goals in the first half.

The second half would fare better, with DVC’s Cal Boone, Chris Banks, Jakob Ternes, and Jacob McIntyre each scoring a goal to end the game 7-2, DVC.

The third and final game of the tournament against St. Mary’s College provided a chance for the Vikings to show improvement. The Vikings held a 4-0 record against St Mary’s in their previous four games, and it was clear that the Gaels would work hard to beat the Vikings.

Despite this, the Vikings struggled in the first half. While the defense played well, the team ended the half behind St Mary’s 2-1.

In the second half the Vikings finally pulled together as a team. The defense shut out St. Mary’s, and the offense was able to score three goals within the first five minutes of the half.

“I think we realized how poorly we played in the duration of the first half,” said midfielder Curtis Bowden. “I mean, one goal is less than ideal. But we put it together at half time and shut them down. We found our flow for the first time all day.”

St. Mary’s frustration with their lack of goals clearly showed when a St. Mary’s defender angrily stabbed Ternes in the stomach with his stick. The Vikings found revenge with four more goals – two of them by Ternes himself. The game ended on a high for the Vikings, with a score of 8-2.

“When our team clicks, I doubt anyone we play can stop us,” admitted Bowden. “We demonstrated this by our second half and the seven goals we scored in that half alone.”

The Vikings will enjoy their victories until Saturday Oct. 27’s UC Davis tournament. They play Cal, Chico State and Davis.

 

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About the Contributor
Samantha Chiu, Managing editor
Samantha Chiu is the spring 2013 managing editor. She was sports editor in fall 2012.

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LAX leaves tourney 2-1