by CHRIS IRELAND
Sports Reporter

It would be hard to blame the Appalachian State University men’s club lacrosse team if it were to give up on its season. The season hasn’t exactly gone as they planned.

The team has lost senior defenseman Dillon Gross, whose wrist is broken in two places, for the season.

It lost captain Joe W. Doyle, who missed the first two games of the season while visiting Belgium and has since battled an ankle injury.

It’s lost valuable outdoor practice time due to inclement weather.

Appalachian State University men’s lacrosse midfielder Tyler Merriman gains the ball from an opponent of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte during an April 2008 match at State Farm Fields. File Photo.

Against The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, nearly half of the team was gone due to prior commitments or injury.

The team has lost its first four games. 

But instead of rolling over and allowing the injuries, the lack of practice, and the early slump to set the tone for the entire season, the Mountaineers enter Saturday’s pivotal doubleheader against Southern Virginia University and Carnegie Mellon University optimistic about what lays ahead for the weekend.

“It’s huge for us,” junior defenseman Rob M. Bailey, building sciences major, said. “I just want to get a win. We should be able to do it."

The long list of early-season injuries and absences has meant more playing time for Appalachian’s bench.

As the team moves closer to operating at full strength, ASU will be working with a deeper, more experienced squad.

“We’ve had guys we can plug in who play well,” team president Jonathan H. Meisner, junior management major, said. “You can see them getting better as this season has gone on. They’re starting to get things and see things out there like older players.”

Meisner feels the early losses to the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, Davidson College, and Charlotte have helped prepare it for a run during the seven remaining games of the season.

“I definitely think it’s doable,” Meisner said. “Our tough games are out of the way.”

ASU will enjoy the luxury of playing at home for the majority of the second half of the season.

After traveling for the first seven games of the year, the Mountaineers’ final three games will be at home.

If all goes well, Appalachian fans in attendance will be witnessing a new and improved Mountaineer squad.

“I’m confident that with more outdoor practice and more guys we can turn this thing around,” Doyle, senior international business major, said.

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