The rain held off just long enough for the Vikings men’s lacrosse team to finish their preseason round robin tournament Sunday afternoon at the Wade King Student Recreation Center.  

The Vikings won their first game 9-4 against division rival Central Washington University, continiung on to lose to Simon Fraser University, 4-14.  

The Vikings are coming off a previous season overall record of 6-5, but they finished 4-0 in their division and placed at the top of the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League for Division II schools.

Western senior and team president Adam Extine said beating Central Washington felt good.  The Vikings controlled the ball for most of the game and kept it near their opponent's goal.  The few goals scored by Central came on breakaway shots that slipped through the defense.  

The second game, however, was a weaker showing for the Vikings.

“That was kind of a bloodbath,” Extine said.  “[Simon Fraser University] is just a really good team.”

Western graduate student and head coach Avram Feld said playing against Simon Fraser is difficult because they are one of the top-ranked teams in the division, but it gives a clear indication of how the Vikings are coming along.

“Playing a team like Simon Fraser shows us exactly what we need to work on,” Feld said. “They’re good enough that it shows where we’re strong and it also shows where we’re weak.”

The Vikings allowed six unanswered goals from Simon Fraser during the second game. Feld said the Vikings will have to improve their defense before the regular season officially starts on Jan. 29, when they will play at home against the University of Washington.

 Western junior and midfielder Cameron Frazier said the Vikings retained most of their players from last year, and they should be strong enough to face a big school like UW when the season starts.

“I think our chemistry is just going to get better and better,” Frazier said.  “We’ll be ready for them.”

Feld said the team has been putting in extra work this fall, and he expects it to pay off when it counts.

Three more games were scheduled for Sunday’s tournament, but Pacific Lutheran University was unable to make it to Bellingham. This may have been a blessing in disguise: Feld said his players were starting to get tired by the end of the second game.  

If Pacific Lutheran had played in the tournament, the weather would have become an issue.  Sunday was overcast and it rained lightly throughout the Vikings’ second game. Feld said he would rather have the team play in the rain than in cold weather.

“If you didn’t want to play lacrosse in the rain, you wouldn’t be playing in Washington,” he said.

Even in the rain, an extra game might not have bothered everyone.

“I’m dying for the start of the season,” Frazier said.  “Every game we play, I’m excited to play another one.”

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