By Scott Cunnigham (Colorado Lacrosse)
As the first chill of fall rolls off of the Flatirons and the first fallen leaves grace the turf of Kittredge Field, the 2008-09 edition of the University of Colorado Men’s Lacrosse team goes through their final preparations before facing their first test of the adolescent fall season. And what a test it should be.
Friday evening, the Buffaloes will be hosting archrival Colorado State University under the lights at Kittredge Field. And although the schedule says this is an exhibition game, the Buffs are not just playing to shake out the early season kinks and develop the young talent. Players and coaches understand that mistakes will be made in their first game of 2008-09, but they are playing to win.
“It is obviously important that we get the new guys experience playing at this level and within this rivalry.” Says goalie Kevin Moriarty, who is sidelined until spring with a broken vertebra. “At the same time, we are taking this game very seriously. There is always a statement to be made playing CSU. Whenever we play them it is always our goal to beat them. We want to set the tone for the spring right away.”
It is important to note that this is a CU team that has not enjoyed much recent success against their rivals. Since 2006, the Buffs have an excellent record of 28-11 against opponents not from Fort Collins. The CU players who were freshman during the ‘06 season and are now seniors have never beaten the Rams, posting a 0-5 mark, including a heart-breaking 8-7 loss in the 2006 National Championship.
“We have only beaten them twice since I have been here,” Moriarty states. “But both of those times were fall exhibitions.”
There is optimism on the Colorado sideline, however.
Moriarty is one who is excited about the upcoming season. “They (incoming players) look excellent. There are a lot of new offensive players out there, and the offense looks 100 times better than last year. We didn’t lose anyone on defense and got some great new additions, which will no doubt help a lot.”
CU Captain Mike Emerson says this will finally be the year that the Buffaloes break through and solve the CSU puzzle. “We have a lot of really talented new guys with us this year. We filled a lot of holes on offense, and I think the time is now to prove we are the better team.”
This is only an exhibition game as far as team records and stats are concerned, sure. But to the team wearing black and gold, it is much more than that. There is not much to say when a team loses five straight to a bitter rival, and the Colorado Captain is a man of few words on the issue.
“There is definitely a statement to be made tomorrow night,” says Emerson. “We are done losing.”
Enough said.
