Chapman men’s lacrosse crushes No. 8-ranked SDSU Aztecs 19-6

The men’s lacrosse team put on a show for Chapman fans, cruising to victory and justifying themselves as the seventh best team in the nation. Photos by Shane Pase

“It wasn’t close.” “The opposition never saw the light of day.” Would these words cross one’s mind in a matchup against a team that was right on their tail?

In the April 14 matchup, the No. 7-nationally ranked Chapman men’s lacrosse was 11-2 on the season and 4-0 in conference play. The No. 8, nationally ranked San Diego State University Aztecs (SDSU) was 8-3 and undefeated in conference play. 

With three games left in the season and a matchup against a top-10 team, the Panthers needed to make a statement, and they capitalized on this matchup.

Defensive midfielder Cooper Ahlers, a junior business administration major, said that the team was bursting with energy before the matchup, which was carried throughout the game, especially with keeping SDSU from effectively passing the ball down the field.

The Panthers’ next matchup will be at Concordia University Irvine on April 22.

“I think that if we (swarmed them) very aggressively when they were trying to clear the ball, they didn’t look very comfortable on film with that aspect, so I think we executed that perfectly,” Ahlers said. “We were doing really great on the faceoffs, just keep the ball on our side at all times, and I think the (final) score dictated that so it was awesome.” 

The Aztecs scored the game's opening goal, but after that moment, Chapman seized control of the game. The Panthers dominated on their faceoffs, thanks to Ahlers’ efforts of winning draws and maintaining possessions.

Even when SDSU had their limited windows of time to score, the Panthers’ defense was suffocating. Midfielder Camden Morris set the defensive tone in the first quarter with a forceful push on an SDSU player to send him hurling out of bounds, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.

Defender Dylan Hartanov also had some remarkable defensive plays, intercepting an SDSU pass twice, leading to fast breaks and converted goals by attacker George McGuirk and attacker Luke Morrisette.

“It makes it easy to play defense when you got Cam and Dylan back there,” said midfielder and junior integrated educational studies major Jackson Stephen. “Cam, (it) seems like every game, he gets one of those (plays) where he just shoves the guy out of bounds, and gets the turnover which is nice. And Dylan kept getting those deflections. He caught one pass, got a fast break, and I got an assist (on George’s goal) out of (the fast break) which is nice.”

Offensively, the Panthers knew exactly what they wanted to do. On multiple goals, Chapman players sped down the sidelines, wrapped tightly around the goal, and launched their shots at a short distance. The Aztec defense had many issues stopping this facet of Chapman’s game plan. 

Stephen observed how the team garnered patience on offense, methodically passing the ball around and focusing on running past Aztec defenders.

“We weren’t really doing one dodge and trying to shoot because that doesn’t really work most of the time (since) the goalie can see the shot well,” Stephen said. “But when you do a dodge, draw a slide (from a defender), move into the backside, (and) play as a team, it just really makes it hard (for SDSU) to play defense.” 

Junior business administration major Leander Rikkers, a defender on the team, agreed with Stephen, saying that ball movement kept defenders on their toes.

“A lot of times, we can get in our own heads if we’re not making that first shot off the first dodge,” Rikkers said. “But as long as we’re moving (our bodies) and keeping the ball moving on offense, the goals fly.”

And when the goals started to fly, the tempers of SDSU started to fly, too. During the second quarter, midfielder Liam Nelson charged straight to the goalie for a nice score, and as Chapman celebrated their 10-2 lead, an SDSU defender threw up his arms in frustration.

At halftime, the Panthers led the Aztecs 13-3. McGuirk had five goals, and both midfielder Liam Nelson and attacker Jackson Wells each had two goals. 

“I think the past two games, both teams (the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles) that we played got that first goal, and against UCLA, it kind of felt like it slowed us down a little bit,” Ahlers said. “But (when SDSU) got that first goal, we retaliated, and we kept the foot on the pedal.”

The second half of the game had the same outcome. While the Aztecs desperately tried to gain footing to make the game score respectable, the Panthers had a series of highlight-reel-worthy goals to extend their lead.

In the Aztecs’ scramble to score, Chapman goalie Jason Bohlinger made three consecutive saves, which sent the crowd into loud applause for his sharp defensive reactions.

Ahlers said at no point during the second half did they feel uncomfortable with the possibility of the Aztecs mustering up a nice comeback.

“I personally want to keep the team under control and play a ‘we’ not ‘me’ mentality and share the ball,” Ahlers said. “Cause you’re up a good amount of goals after the first half, and you have the tendency to want to be a little selfish and get some great plays. I think we stayed away from that, and all of us played great. The whole team felt lucrative and we were all in sync.”

Rikkers also gave high praise for players who may not be scoring goals but are hustling after every pass and ground ball.

“It’s not just the face-off guys. It’s the wings too,” Rikkers said. “Cam on the wing, even our (short sticks) (midfielder) Charlie Durante, (midfielder) Michael Morrison, those guys are dogs. Every time the ball is on the ground, I feel like they get it, and if it’s not theirs, they’re running hard on defense, getting back (and defending).”

Chapman’s top scorers of this matchup were McGuirk with seven goals and three assists, Nelson with four goals and one assist, and Wells with three goals and one assist. Ahlers won 12 of 15 face-offs, while Will Curtis won 10 of 14 face-offs. Bohlinger had 13 saves in the game.

“We’re in a great spot. I’d take us over anyone, of course,” Stephen said. “We’ve got that confidence but still got a long way to go. (We’ve got to) keep practicing (and) keep working hard.” 

The Panthers competed against the University of Arizona on April 16, defeating the Wildcats 25-7. Their next matchup will be at Concordia University Irvine on April 22.

“While it’s good to have a statement win like this (against the Aztecs), I think we just gotta keep working hard, not be complacent and (we’ve got to) look forward to the next game on Sunday and Concordia next week,” Rikkers said.