By Travis Akin 16

Many of the players on the SIUC lacrosse team never have played the game prior to coming to Carbondale, but SIUC Lacrosse Club President Mike Kizaric said his players’ inexperience is not going to be a factor in the SIUC Fall Classic this weekend.

A couple of years ago, there were a lot of new guys on the team, Kizaric, a senior in administration and justice from Palos Hills, said. We have all been practicing and coming around. The old new guys are now the leaders of the team. It is experience that’s all it is that is scoring the points. You’ve seen things before, and you know how to react.

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The club is sponsoring a six-team tournament beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Sam Rinella Fields. The teams will include Eastern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University and University of Wisconsin at Whitewater.

SIUC has played all of the teams in the tournament, and Kizaric expects the most competition from Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Whitewater is going to present a problem to every team here because they are really good, he said. Other than that, it is anybody’s game.

The tournament is part of the fall preseason, where SIUC will attempt to improve on its 2-5 record. The team plays in fall tournaments to get experience for the spring season.

Although the team does not have a winning record so far this fall, Brian Kaminsky, club vice president, said the players are beginning to show some improvement.

In the last few games, we have been moving the ball a lot better, Kaminsky, a junior in management from Flosswood, said. And (we have been) keeping it (the ball) out of our defensive end so that our goalie does not have to work as hard.

Controlling the ball has been the key for SIUC in staying competitive with teams such as Illinois State and Wisconsin- Whitewater that normally beat SIUC.

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We have a solid defense this year as compared to other years, Kizaric said. We are playing with teams that two or three years ago would have annihilated us.

Another factor that will help the team in the tournament is being able to play at home. Kizaric said most of the time the team has to play immediately after driving six or seven hours. But the home games will mean a better-rested team for SIUC.

It also will be an advantage for goalie Patrick Fornes because he knows the field inside and out.

When I go to a new field, I don’t know what condition it is going to be in, Fornes said. When the ball hits the ground, I don’t know the direction it is going to go. With this field, I pretty much know how it is going to bounce. When I am playing somewhere else, it (the ball) can go anywhere.

The team may have some home advantages, but Kizaric said that will not stop teams like the Wisconsin-Whitewater. He said the reason teams like Whitewater have such solid programs is because they get players with years of experience.

But Kizaric is confident SIUC will be able to stay competitive in the tournament.

We’re just as good as everybody else except when you bring out these ringers from the East Coast who have been playing since they were 3, Kizaric said. But that doesn’t count. Those of us who have learned the game at Southern, we are as good as everybody else.

The Lacrosse Club tournament will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Sam Rinella Fields.