The LSU men’s club lacrosse team’s home opener against Sam Houston State takes place Friday at 7 p.m. at Olympia Stadium.
Coming home after two games on the road should be comforting for the Tigers (1-1) after a division victory against Houston and a loss against Southern Methodist.
In both games, the Tigers’ offense was prolific, scoring 21 goals. Junior Hunter Stinson leads the team with five goals.
Freshman Austin Melson said the key to the offense’s success was its ability to confuse defenses by switching formations, which allowed players to find holes in the schemes of opposing defenses.
“It is also hustle though. It’s hard work,” said junior goalie Paddy McClernon, “Austin had a couple of goals that bounced off the goalie and he picked it up and put it in. It’s working harder than the other team.”
The Tigers’ 40-player roster allows the players to play all-out because they have plenty of depth on the bench to replace tired starters.
To be competitive in their conference, the Lone Star Alliance, LSU has to bring together players from not only Louisiana, but also other areas like Houston, Chicago, D.C., Florida and Wisconsin.
Most of the competitive teams in the LSA are schools based in large cities in Texas that can recruit from the top lacrosse programs in their own backyard.
“Generally Louisiana isn’t as good at lacrosse as Texas is in high school, but grabbing all of the best players and putting them on LSU’s team makes an All-Star team,” said senior captain Andrew McHale. “That allows us to be able to compete with them.”
Despite the loss to SMU, the Tigers are confident in their team moving forward with a 1-0 division record.  
“SMU usually wins the north division every year,” Melson said. “So only losing to SMU by three gives us high hopes against University of Texas and Texas State.”
The team has plenty of time to prepare for powerhouses Texas and Texas State, since they play both in the last three weeks of the season.
But before the Tigers look ahead, they must first take care of Sam Houston State, who won the Division II LSA in 2013.
“I’m pretty pumped, especially as a senior,” McHale said, “We are playing in a new field location that will be able to host a lot more people, and I hope we can fill up the stands a little more than we usually do. I’m excited to play in front of LSU students again.”