(Photo: Debbie Braasch Thew/ASU Lacrosse)
Arizona State lacrosse was on the wrong end of a 10-1 run in the fourth quarter as the No. 2 Sun Devils lost their opening scrimmage of the season against Whittier 20-7 on Sunday.
The defeat was one of the worst in the program’s recent history, and it was something that veteran players had never seen before. Junior midfielder Henry Archie shed some light on how rare a defeat like this is for the Sun Devils:
“It was the first time that anybody in my class, the juniors, and also the senior class has lost by more than one goal,” Archie said. “It was a big shift for us.”
Assistant coach Justin Straker also had words about what his team took away from the defeat.
“Long way to go,” he said. “Every season is a marathon; it’s not a sprint. Our team is trying to find its identity with a new coaching staff. We’re still trying to get used to a new structure.”
The annual meetings between the two teams have normally been very competitive. Whittier is an NCAA DIII team and Straker remembers in his senior season only being able to defeat them by narrow margins only a year ago. That same ASU team would go on to finish 19-1 in MCLA play.
There were also concerns from the coaching staff as to what could be taken away from such a loss.
“We’re too soft as a team, we need to be more physical,” Thon said. “We need better communication. We’re not talking to each other on the field on the defensive end. Clears, offenses, rides, anything, we’re not talking. We need more communication.”
Another key thing that this squad has lacked throughout the young season has been trust, according to Thon.
“We don’t trust each other. You can’t have a cohesive team defense with lack of trust.”
Thon also expressed concern regarding the team’s performance in practice prior to the scrimmage.
“We slacked off in the last couple of weeks prior to our games. It showed in practice and it showed in the games. We need a tougher mental attitude and work ethic.”
However, things have taken a turn for the better, as the Sun Devils looked like a team possessed at Tuesday’s practice.
“We definitely picked things up today,” Straker said. “I think they’re finally starting to realize how much better that we need to be. We’re getting after them. The upperclassmen, they’re doing a good job, they’re getting after the young guys and making them realize how far they need to come.”
The Sun Devils will be working hard to make sure that losses like this don’t become a trend. They will start off the regular season at the Pac-12 Shootout against Cal and Stanford this weekend.
