By Gordon Laws
Steve Austin
The BYU men’s lacrosse team has captured their second national championship in four years. The Cougars entered the U.S. Lacrosse Intercollegiate Association tournament seeded sixth but won games in three consecutive days, including upsets of the second and third seeds, to meet the Colorado State Rams in the final.
“I had no problem motivating these guys,” says Coach Jason J. Lamb of the final. “All we did was show up and talk about some strategy. These guys were spitting green because of our history with Colorado State.”
Overcoming an early season loss to CSU and a one-point loss to the Rams in the regional championship, the Cougars won 17–13 behind sophomore midfielder Troy K. Taylor, who had five goals and two assists. The victory also made up for a disappointing finish in last year’s tournament when BYU entered as the first seed but lost in the quarterfinals.
“We really just keeled over last year,” says senior goalie Dave A. Johnson. “But it’s a great feeling to end my career like this, to win the whole thing.”
Sophomore attackman Rex W. Hardy was named Tournament MVP, while junior midfielder Steve Austin received Offensive MVP honors and Johnson received Defensive MVP honors.
The Cougars last won the tournament in 1997 and finished second in 1998.
