Guys who play a sport that is a hybrid of football and hockey are bound to be a little quirky to begin with.
Put them under the direction of a Boeing 737 pilot instructor, a guy who moved across the country just to ski and an employee of the Salt Lake City School District in the Department of Multicultural Education and Foreign Language and they become downright eccentric.
But ignore their undefeated record and No. 23 national ranking, and they’re just plain angry.
The members of the U lacrosse team may be relegated to the club ranks and live in the shadow of their varsity sport counterparts, but that isn’t stopping them from clamoring for attention.
“It’s not like the football team, where people are showing up to cover us,” said junior midfielder Mike Harrington-House. “It’s mainly popular on the East coast, so a lot of people out here have never seen it before. But they don’t know what they’re missing.”
Specifically, that’s a team that has run its record to 6-0 thus far this year, thanks largely to a coaching staff headed by former Air Force cadet Mason Goodhand, who is also involved with the Utah Lacrosse Association and has made the Utes his latest project.
He’s joined by offensive coordinator Brett Bartlett, who made the trek from Vermont to Alta, Utah, just to hit the slopes, and assistant coach Daniel Schmidt. Together, the three volunteers have turned Utah into a quality program in a short amount of time.
“After having no coach for the last two years, it’s made such a difference having a good one now,” Harrington House said. “We have no problems getting motivated anymore.”
And the Utes will have no trouble getting motivated for their two upcoming matchups. In the next four days alone, the U will be waging war with a pair of Top-10 teams, hosting No. 8 Stanford on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., and No. 1 Sonoma State on Tuesday at noon. Both contests take place at the HPER North Field.
And though they might lack a prestigious reputation right now, the 30 U players on the team recognize this as an opportunity to quickly make a name for themselves.
“If we win both games, we’d probably be ranked in the Top 10. We’d definitely get some instant respect,” Harrington House said. “We played Sonoma close in a tournament in Las Vegas last fall, and Stanford has lost a couple games to teams we’ve done well against. So we definitely stand a chance. Both games should be highly contested.”
Of course, the Utes are not only in search of victories and the corresponding respect that comes with them; they’re hoping that facing two of the top teams of the country provides casual Utah sports fans all the motivation they need to stroll to the HPER and check out the action.
“It’s really physical, it’s really fast?it’s going to be pretty lively,” Harrington-House said.
Following the contests against the Cardinal and the Cossacks, The Utes have four games left on the schedule, including the last three versus ranked opponents (No. 2 Colorado State, No. 12 Colorado and No. 3 BYU).
“Staying in the Top-25 is a long-term goal, and moving up is the goal this season,” Harrington-House said. “We’re a program that’s definitely building, but we’re looking to become a permanent fixture as a lacrosse powerhouse.”
For more information, visit their Web site at: www.utelacrosse.com.