Cortland Men’s Lacrosse is fuled to seek revenge in their upcoming game against Nazareth to recover from last year’s loss. Teammates including Zach Perlett and Owen Folkwein have mentioned the team’s plan to work specifically on their defense, energy, and overall mindset prior to this game for a higher chance of success.
Last season of the 2023 season, Cortland faced a loss against Nazareth on April 4th with a score of 10-13, and the team has been going over their weaknesses and what players they should target.
Zach Perlett, a junior midfielder, said last year one of the teams’ issues was doubting the skill level of Nazareth. This upcoming game they are expecting Nazareth to come with a higher skill level, so they put all their effort in the game and do not allow Nazareth to take advantage of their doubts again.
“We aren’t taking them lightly this year. Last year we thought we’d walk in and win,” Perlett said. “This year our coach has put a point on playing down to other teams if we don’t take them as seriously.”
Junior goalie Owen Folkwein mentioned how their starting goalie, Travis Wagner has been playing great recently and how he’s hoping for this to continue into the Nazareth game. The goalie’s performance sets the game, and it is crucial that they are dedicated in each game.
Last year, Wagner had one caused turnover during the game that he would want to look out for this upcoming game and try to avoid. He played 60 minutes with 10 total saves out of the 23 they had attempted.
“I feel like I pay more attention to Wagner than anyone else, which makes me appreciate how hard he plays and how important he is for this team,” Folkwein said. “Being a goalie makes me have a different perspective and I try to make sure he knows how important he is for our success.”
Offense has not been an issue as much as their mentality and defense has been. The team has been trying to do specific situational drills to help improve these flaws.
“I feel like our offense has been playing very well,” Perlett said. “The scoring has been very spread out which makes it hard for other teams to try and shut down just one player.”
Nazareth player Quinn McKercher had 6 shots on goal which Cortland will try to eliminate next time. A couple other players to lookout for were Jack McOsker, Quinn Conroy, and Louis Cogliandro, all with 4 shots on goal. As Perlett said Cortland’s defense must be prepared for all players to challenge them.
This game should be a close one and has good competition and skill on both sides. Cortland is letting their loss last year fuel them going into this year’s battle.
Cortland faces Nazareth on Wednesday, April 3rd at 4pm in Cortland.