The score wasn’t pretty, but Marquette lacrosse coach Joe Amplo said that isn’t the biggest takeaway from his team’s first game action.
The Golden Eagles finished on the short end of the stick in their first action of the season, falling to High Point 16-4 in a scrimmage Saturday. Despite the lopsided score, Amplo saw what he expected.
“I told (the players) at halftime, ‘There should be no sour faces,’” said Amplo. “You look at the scoreboard, it doesn’t matter. It’s about the next play.”
The team didn’t keep stats, although they will look at game film to see where they can improve. Most importantly, it was the first time Marquette matched up against someone in a different-colored jersey since the Big East tournament last spring. It’s another opportunity for growth prior to the season opener against Lehigh.
“I said, ‘Come Thursday of this week, you’re going to be such a different team than you are right now,” Amplo said. “Two weeks from now, three weeks from now, you won’t even remember any aspect of this scrimmage.’”
All three goalies, sophomore Jimmy Danaher, junior Matt Barone and freshman Cole Blazer got time between the pipes as well as three face-off men and nine or 10 defensemen, according to Amplo.
A majority of the veteran players have already shown the coaching staff what skills they possess. Amplo saw the scrimmage as a great opportunity for some of the younger players to shine. He singled out Tanner Thompson, Colin Riehl and Mikey Zadroga III as three freshman who left an impression on him.
“We tried our best to mix and match our lineups to see who communicates best with each other, and not put guys in a place of disadvantage because of who they were playing with,” Amplo said.
“If you put three freshmen out there on defense together, that’s not going to be easy for them,” he continued. “But if you put a freshman with two upperclassmen who have seen minutes before, then that guy is probably going to perform better.”
Marquette finishes off its exhibition schedule next Saturday when the it plays Michigan University and Denison University in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday. Amplo plans on using the first team primarily against Michigan, while playing the second team in a starting role against Denison.
