One of the hardest things about being in the season is measuring the success of the team in any way other than the win/loss columns. Often, it’s not until we’ve come out of the other end of the season-long tunnel do we see the impact of a season on us and on others.

As this season wound down with another first round playoff game against Fullerton, it went out any way but easily. Our game went from being scheduled at Fullerton, to Yorba Linda High School, to Fullerton, to Biola; all within the time span of about a day. After the scheduling finally figured itself out, and the game was played, Biola’s athletics department received this note from the mother of a Fullerton player:

I’m a parent of a Cal State Fullerton lacrosse player and I wanted to thank you for allowing the playoff game to be played at your school.  The Fullerton parents realize that your team could have forced our team to forfeit due to the fact we could not provide a field on Saturday.

We also appreciate that your players exhibit good sportsmanship and that they pray with our team.  One parent said, “Biola walks their talk.”  The other Christian school in our league doesn’t get the same kind of compliments but contrary comments.

Thank you for lacrosse team’s standout behavior.

It doesn’t even matter what the score was that day, or the fact that we were all mentally and physically drained from the scheduling mess. The only thing that truly matters from that day was that parents from a rival school, whether they are Christian or not, recognized and went out of their way to thank us for doing what we say we do as Christians.

Not one game has gone by in 12 years of Biola lacrosse when a team hasn’t been invited to pray with us after the game. Sometimes we get cussed at and have to pray as our own team, but we continue on. This team has seen winning records and losing records, and hopefully our opponents have seen a team that is humble in victory and gracious in defeat. It’s what sets Biola lacrosse apart from other schools, even Christian schools, and it’s what we will continue to do as long as we have a team of men willing to fellowship with the opponent.

After a year of semi-bland helmets with only the player number and a “BU” logo, we’ve added some flair to the 2012 helmets. Just like the employees at Chotchkie’s, we’ve got a minimum amount of flair to wear around here. To the photos!

This year, each side features the interlocked “BU” logo, with the “MCLA” logo on the left side. We added the wrap-around decal to bring some more color in, and show off our retro eagle logo. Subtle change of the chin strap adds some more team color, and takes out more of the black.

The eagle was inspired by Morehead State’s old logo that they don’t use anymore. Why you would ditch this logo for a new one is beyond me.

We moved the player number to the back of the helmet, and feature our team motto, “For One,” on the wrap-around decal.

Having been part of the Biola lacrosse program since the 2002-03 season, I’ve seen my fair share of games against Claremont. We’ve played them every year, and twice once year, so I’ve played/coached against them 11 times. The final scores are tough to look back on: 22-10, 17-2, 15-5, 12-7, 13-3, 17-4, and so on. Those scores are what makes an 8-7 loss a win in the 2012 season.

In a few of those previous games, we managed to put up a decent amount of goals, compared to the other scores. No matter how many we scored, however, we could never keep Claremont’s score down. When we only lost 12-7 it was a pretty good loss at the time, but time and talent have a way of changing the outlook and outcome of these games.

After looking at the game film on Sunday, we were |__this__| close to beating Claremont for the first time ever. Limit penalties on defense, get more shots on the cage, and work on off-ball movement, and those seven goals turn into 10+. We’ve got the talent all over the field; starting with the attack, Jeff Clark and Marc Morgan combined for 130 points last season, and Adam Kingston is back from his season with NCAA D3 Adams State College.

In the midfield ranks, Joel Williams has a full season under his belt as a face-off middie, and we added freshman Matt Young, who can easily be one of the best face-off middies in the country at our level. Jon McMahan returns from surgery on the other knee, and if his skills in practice are any indication, he could probably play on crutches and still dominate. There are so many middies that can contribute at any time that I can’t go through everyone, but believe me when I say we have more scoring options than ever before.

Finally, our defense played outstanding against Claremont. They worked together like never before to shut down almost every look Claremont tried to get.  And if the defense lets someone through, I don’t think goalie Sean Lane has the intention of letting the ball past him. As a senior with a ton of heart, he’s doing a fantastic job in cage, having only stepped in there last semester because we needed someone.

Short story long, everything was there on Saturday to win. Everything is there to win week in and week out. Having been on the short-end of Claremont games for a decade, I’m excited for what this team has the potential to do the rest of the season.