GREAT FALLS, Mont. – A season turnaround could be in mid-swing for University of Providence lacrosse (3-7, 3-1), but first, the Argos must get through its first weekend of home games. After 10 straight road games to start the season, UP will get to play on Argo Field in back-to-back home games against University of Northern Colorado (3-3) and (21) University of Colorado-Denver (7-0).
After starting the 2018 season with a win over Gonzaga University, the Argos went on a seven-game losing streak, with six of those losses coming against ranked opponents. UP snapped that streak with a huge 16-2 win over conference opponent Puget Sound, and then beat another conference foe, Western Washington, 10-9 to put the team deep in playoff contention.
The Northern Colorado Bears will be the four unranked MCLA Division II team UP has played in 2018, and all of those have been wins for the Argos. Beyond that, history doesn't have much to tell with the two schools never having faced before.
UP and UNC have had one common opponent so far in 2018, the University of Montana. Both teams lost to the Griz, through the Bears were slightly closer, falling 11-7 in comparison to UP's 10-5.
Through the season, the Bears have been kept in games by outstanding performances from their goalkeeper Steve Karsten. The graduate student has played every minute of every game and has a stunning season save percentage of 74.6.
The game will be played at 2 p.m. on Argo Field on Saturday, April 14, followed by the game against UC-Denver at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 15.
UC-Denver will be the seventh ranked team the Argos have played in 2018. The bad news is that UP has lost to the previous six. The good news is that the Lynx will be the lowest ranked of those teams.
The Lynx are undefeated on the year but have yet to face a team ranked in the PNCLL Division II Coaches' Poll. That will change the day before the play UP when they go up against (8) Montana State University.
Stopping UC-Denver's middie Beau Ecksten will be key for the Argos. The senior leads the team in points (56), goals (34), assists (22), groundballs (97), and has won 171 of 201 faceoffs taken.
Along with Ecksten's offensive prowess, the team boosts another effective goalie, with senior Adam Rosberg save 67.3 percent of his shots faced.
With both teams being non-conference opponents, neither of the upcoming weekend's games will effect UP's chances of making the PNCLL Division II Playoffs. That being said, the playoff picture will change over the weekend, with many of UP's PNCLL competitors playing conference games.
As of now, the Argos sit second in the PNCLL Norther standings, and the team only has one conference game left on the schedule. While UP has played four of its 5 PNCLL games, some other teams aren't as far along making the current picture fuzzy.
It is still mathematically possible that four of the six teams in the north division could claim first place outright. It's also possible that the north ends in a four-way tie.
