I took in the contest between the Spartans and Gauchos last night, although it was tough to see anything during the first half:
AHHH THE SUN.
It got a little more tolerable once the sun went down, but it got really, really cold as well.
No more sun, just really cold.
As it turned out, I sat in front of a couple members of Michigan’s coaching staff, undoubtedly checking out both the Gauchos and the Spartans (Michigan’s opponent on April 16th).
As for the game itself, I was too busy shivering to take note of a lot but the most obvious stuff (Connor Bush and Patrick Nemes are good!), but I did make a couple observations:
- UCSB’s faceoff man destroyed State’s. He controlled where the ball was going on nearly every draw. However, it didn’t seem like he had the best control, as the ball would go in the direction he intended, but often a lot further away than he probably wanted. The Gauchos’ wing play wasn’t great either, so I would guess the final faceoff stats were close to 50/50.
- Michigan State’s goalie was awful in the clearing game. He passed it several feet high or low on many occasions. I’m not sure if he just had a bad pass or two and got the yips for the rest of the game, or if it’s something that happens on a regular basis. To his credit though, he was great at keeping the ball out of the net (though he was no Dean Hall, MSU’s excellent goalie last season). Smith Atwood is one hell of a name, as well.
- It was a slow-moving first half, as UCSB led 4-2 at the break, but the pace picked up, especially in the fourth quarter when the Spartans really started pulling away. I believe they were up 11-7 with just a couple minutes left in the game until UCSB pulled a couple back to make it look close.
- The Gauchos had one of the shortest lacrosse players I’ve ever seen (youth players notwithstanding, of course). There’s no way #57 is even close to 5 feet tall.
- UCSB’s cheering section was full of… poor sports. Complaining about the officiating (which, as a neutral observer, I’ll say they couldn’t have been much more wrong), cheering when opposing players got hurt, etc. Embarrassing.
MCLA official stats, etc. here. I’ll check out the Michigan-Boston College game tonight, and the two instate teams trade opponents over the weekend, with the Wolverines taking on UCSB tomorrow night, and the Spartans facing BC Sunday afternoon. Previews here.