Photograph by Jessica Vretenar
Sophomore Tyler Mancl attacks the ball during the UW-River Falls game on April 3. UW-P won 13-2 with Mancl scoring his first-ever goal.

The UW-Platteville lacrosse club traveled to UW-La Crosse on April 3, for two more games on their road to the A-Bracket. The Pioneers finished 1-1 for the weekend, bringing their record up to 2-2.

“As of right now we sit in the middle of our division,” Mike Shea, senior captain said. “We need to win out the rest of the year to be guaranteed a spot in the upper bracket of the Great Lakes Lacrosse League tournament.”

The first game ended with a difficult 8-1 loss to UW-La Crosse. Max Vejvoda, freshman midfielder, scored the only goal against the Eagles.
The Pioneers’ numbers were down heading into the weekend due to injuries or prior engagements, but the focus of the players on the field was not on the game at hand, Nick Bates, senior defender said.

“We played right into their game plan and let them do what they wanted to do,” Shea said.

UW-P stepped onto the field for the second game of the day against UW-River Falls. The Pioneers took off will full force from the start and controlled the game.

“We forgot about the last game and came out with some fire,” Bates said. “We knew we had to win to stay in the top of our division.”
According to the GLLL Web site, UW-P is currently ranked 17 out of 27 teams as of press time.

UW-P defeated the Falcons 13-2 in their second game, with six of the points coming from five first-time scorers.

The younger players were able to get playing time against UW-RF which allowed them a chance to play out what they’ve been practicing in a game situation, Shea said.

The defense and offense worked better together during the second game, Bates said. The defense was able to stop the Falcons more than they did against Eagles, and the offense worked the ball around to get past UW-RF.

“We all know that these games are really important and we need to finish strong and come out ready to play,” Bates said.

UW-P will travel to UW-River Falls on Saturday, April 10 for two more games. There, the Pioneers will face off against North Dakota University at noon, followed by Gustavus Adolphus College at 2 p.m.