By Joann Groff
Staff Writer
It was a day that couldn’t have gotten any better.
A substantial number of fans sat on the bleachers at Tari Frahm Rokus Saturday afternoon, basking in the afternoon sun, with the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island sprawled out in the distance, taking in the first men’s lacrosse game of the season.
The team dominated USC and was awarded a 12-7 win and a 1-0 record. This divisional game was a great way to start of their season, and foreshadowed a victorious season to come.
The guys head out to Arizona State this weekend to play against the Sun Devils on Saturday, but will return home on Sunday. Their next home game is Feb. 16 at Pepperdine, where they will face Occidental in their second divisional game.
The squad faces the consummate club-team challenge, as they look forward to the day when the stands are filled with cheering students .
Until then, they will keep plugging away as they did Saturday.
Freshman Matt Pond scored the first goal of the game off an outside shot halfway through the first quarter. He was pleased with the win over the Trojans, and saw it as a good season opener.
“USC is not a premiere team, but they were a decent test,” Pond said. “They are a good team, and our victory over them proved to be a solid start.” Pond was also responsible for another goal later in the game.
During the second quarter, the Waves took over offensively, scoring six goals that secured the advantage as the teams broke for the half.
Pepperdine’s defense was also powerful, allowing only outside shots that were no match for sophomore goalie Nic Fischer.
Fischer blocked 11 shots during the first half.
The next half resulted in five more goals for Pepperdine, leaving the team with a 12-7 win over the Trojans and a 1-0 record in its division. Goalie Trevor Self also had an impressive game with 15 saves in the second half.
Sophomore captain Jeff Holden was impressed with his team’s appearance at their first match of the year.
“We came out and played incredibly well — it was our first game, and it was a lot of fun,” Holden said.
“We had a lot of young players who stepped up and really showed that Pepperdine is going to be a challenge. Our game proved that we will be able to play anyone that we step onto the field with.”
Chris Serna also had a notable game, scoring six goals, as did transfer Greg Spielberg, who scored two on the afternoon. Other scorers include middies Justin Eaton and Kweng Kyu Choi.
Senior Dew Wallas dominated the face-off contests against the Trojans, securing the Waves invaluable possessions.
With a well-rounded group of members in all classes including eight new freshmen, the team is confident of future success.
“We have a lot better team this year than in the past, I think we are going to do really well this year,” Fischer said.
February 07, 2002
