Aggies to battle unbeaten Air Force

By Logan Jones

Utah State University’s women’s lacrosse team will face a familiar foe in Air Force on Friday in the first round of the Rocky Mountain Women’s Lacrosse League playoffs.

Sophomore captain Jenessa Woods is ready for a rematch after the Falcons beat the Aggies in February by a final score of 9-3 — AFA’s second-lowest scoring game of the year.

“When we played in February we were only down by two goals with 10 minutes to go,” Woods said. “I think we lost because of playing two games before in the cold.”

The playoffs will be held at the University of Utah and will pit the top two teams of the RMCLL East and West Divisions against each other Friday. The first-round winners will face off Saturday at 9 a.m. for a spot in the national tournament.

“We should have a pretty good chance,” said Paige Simpson, a sophomore defender. “We were pretty close last time. We played them the first time and it was cold. Plus it was the second or third game of the day and we went into it with a poor attitude.”

The Falcons boast a perfect 8-0 record heading into Friday's matchup. The Aggies are 6-3 overall, with losses to AFA, Westminster and the University of Utah.

Simpson said she is looking forward to Friday, but not because she wants revenge on the Falcons.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to play more games,” Simpson said. “It’s fun to keep playing lacrosse.”

Second-year player Hali King said she thinks Friday’s rematch will favor the Aggies.

“I feel a lot more confident than I did the first time we played,” King said. “We’ve improved a ton and we’ve been focusing and sharp clean passes. Our defense is solid and our offense knows what to do. We just have to win.”

King said the Aggies are more prepared for the Falcons now than they were early in the season.

“They like to drive a lot so defense will have to be ready,” King said. “Our offense will have to maneuver fast to get around their defense.”

Woods said she knows beating an undefeated team isn’t easy but believes her team is up for the challenge.

“I have full faith it’ll be a great game,” Woods said. “They won’t be expecting us to put up much of a fight. I think we’re going to be more focused this time. They won’t beat us a second time.”