BOZEMAN, Mont. – Improvements on both offense and defense weren't enough for (22) University of Providence lacrosse to take down (12) University of Montana. In the second game of the 4th Annual Copper Cup, UP lost to the Griz, a team the Argos have never beaten, 10-5.
 
As has been the case in a large chunk of UP's games in 2018, the Argos got the better of the first quarter. Montana was the first to score, getting a goal at the 11:40 mark, but UP's top two scorers each got a goal after that.
 
The first of those two came from junior Chase Clark, but what made the score particularly special was that it was assisted, a rarity for the squad. Freshman defender Tommy West got that assist, giving him the first point of his collegiate career. After Clark's goal, senior Josh Smith scored another just 30 second later to put UP ahead 2-1 after 15 minutes of play.
 
A 4-0 second quarter, in favor of the Griz, totally turned the momentum of the game. UP only got off 4 shots in those 15 minutes, and the damage would have been worse if not for 5 saves from junior goalkeeper Jeremy Smith.
 
After a slew of slow starts after halftime, the Argos finally started  a  third  quarter  well. Not only did UP get the first goal of the quarter, but they began to showcase a much more balanced offense than in the previous five games. Freshman Turner Maza the one to get the scoring going in the second half, with a goal on a pass from Josh Smith.
 
Montana answered with 2 goals of its own, and with 15 minutes left in the game, the Argos trailed the Griz 7-4.
 
Maza struck again just 12 seconds into the fourth quarter with an unassisted goal. It gave the freshman is  fist  multi-goal game of his young collegiate career. That made it a 2 goal game, but Montana scored another 2 of its own to bring the margin back to 4 goals.
 
The two teams traded goals in the final few minutes, with UP's coming from junior Kobe Johnson.
 
UP's defense showed marked improvement after allowing 21 goals the previous day against (10) Montana State University. It was also just the second time all year, five different Argo players scored in a game.
 
Goalie Jeremy Smith continues to be outstanding between the pipes for UP. The junior had 5 saves in each of the first three quarters and finished with 18 total saves on 28 faced shots.
 
UP's record goes to 1-5 (1-1) with the loss and the team will still have to wait another week before it plays an unranked team and another two weeks before it plays at home. The team's next opponent will be (20) College of Idaho on March 30 at 7 p.m. in Caldwell, Idaho.