The LSU lacrosse team will aim for its first playoff victory in club history Saturday when it takes on the SMU Mustangs in Dallas in the first round of the Lone Star Alliance Playoffs.
LSU (10-5) is coming off its best season in program history under second-year coach Jeff Echols. It is the first time the Tigers have recorded double-digit wins, and they will have a chance to play for the conference championship after being disqualified from the tournament in 2014 due to an academic ineligibility issue.
“We expected to make the playoffs,” Echols said. “We want to prove to the conference that we’re one of the best teams if not the best team. The only way to do that is win, and it starts Saturday against SMU.”
A big part of the Tigers’ success has been their offense. Upperclassmen Hunter Stinson and Thomas Brown lead a team that has put up numbers unlike any other attack in the country.
Stinson leads the Major Collegiate Lacrosse Association in total points and is tied for the lead in goals. Brown is the national assist leader.
“There’s good chemistry between me and Hunter, and we use it to our advantage for the whole team and work it into our offense,” Brown said. “The key to this game will be to keep our composure and stay focused throughout the game.”
Senior goalkeeper Rick Battista leads the Tigers on defense and boasts a 62 percent save percentage. They also have key contributions from younger players such as sophomore Stephen Podorsky, who Echols called the core of LSU’s defense and its fastest player, and freshmen Lawton Perret and Mitchell Webber.
The Mustangs defeated LSU in Dallas last season 13-10, and the two were set to meet again this year before the game was cancelled due to weather.
“We’re a young team this year,” said Podorsky, “but everyone has crazy talent, and we all molded together really well this year. Last year when we played [SMU in the regular season] they were really tough, and they beat us pretty badly, but I definitely think we can beat them this year.”
LSU needs three victories to win the LSA championship and advance to the MCLA Division 1 National Tournament in Orange, California on May 11-16. Echols said the team is in a good state heading into the game.
“I think the Easter break fit well in our schedule, and I think taking a week off was a good thing for us,” Echols said. “[SMU] is very well coached and they have a very talented attack. Having played them last year, we feel we know what they run and we feel we match up very well with them.”
Echols’ players look to seize the opportunity in the LSA playoffs after what happened last year. A victory would be LSU’s first playoff win in the 42-year history of the club.
“I think we have one goal in mind, and that is to beat every team from the first round to the finals so we can go to California,” Brown said. “That’s been our goal from the start, and we’ve been looking forward to it since offseason workouts. It’s all come down to this, and we’re ready for the challenge.”
You can reach Mario Jerez on Twitter @MJerezIIITDR.