The team is ready for a new year. Photo courtesy of Chris Malone.The ASU men’s lacrosse team came so close last year.
That statement has become repetitive to the fans and members of the team.
Being the runner-up for the 2010 and 2011 seasons perfectly describes how close the team is. A loss in the semi-finals of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association against Cal Poly, was the last action the team has seen.
Finishing last season with a 13-6 record, the team was two wins away from a national title.
Two years ago, the team graduated two of their all-time best players. Ryan Westfall and Eric Nelson were both in the top five of scorers in all NCAA during their final year.
They made up for 75% of the ASU offense, and in a flash it was gone.
In the following season, Coach Chris Malone found his team sitting at a pivotal point in the season.
“We were at 7-5, and we really had to make a decision from there,” Malone says. “We came together as a team and won our next seven games."
Malone will be making the right adjustments this season to keep the team in contention. However, there is one part of a player’s game that he can’t teach.
“You can’t coach experience,” Malone says. “We’ll be starting a new goalie this year, but the returning players have their first few years in the system and should be ready to go.”
Last year, Ben Martynec came in as a freshman and contributed one of the most balanced season statistics during the first year with the team.
“Losing those guys set the offense back a little bit," sophomore Ben Martynec says. “We still have the best defense in the NCAA, but our offense was affected last year by their departure.”
Martynec, a midfielder, recorded 14 goals and also led the team with 14 assists over the span of last season.
Martynec hopes to continue his consistent play on the field, and expects more change in the upcoming season.
“The biggest change this year is experience,” Martynec says. “We had mostly Freshman and Sophomores playing last year, and with our growing experience we are looking to come out firing.”
For the players with experience on the team, the bittersweet taste of the previous seasons has a sour taste in their mouth.
However, for a transfer student-athlete from Oregon, junior Justin Straker says, “It still definitely stings a bit.”
In his first season as a Sun Devil, Straker contributed 21 goals and averaged over 1.5 points per game.
“After transferring from Oregon it was a little hard to feel the bittersweet feeling all my teammates had,” Straker says. “So to change things up, we are all taking the offseason much more seriously. Our coaching staff has treated Fall Ball just like the spring and all of our returners have responded really well.”
Championship or bust. The Sun Devils plan to cause havoc for their conference opponents and for the rest of the country.
You can reach me at etrianta@asu.edu
