The 2022 version of the College of Idaho men's lacrosse team will look to build positive momentum off a CoVID shortened season in 2021 that saw the Yotes play just three games.
POSITION PREVIEW – Attack: Headlining the returnees will be the return of
Casey Davies, who in a limited season in 2021, found the back of the net for seven goals and assisted on two more. Davies secured All-American honors in 2020, where he set program records for goals (73), assists (48) and total points (121). Also, in the mix in will be
Brad Hale, who added an assist and picked up a pair of ground balls, last spring. In the offseason, the Yotes have added Middleton native
Alex Ozuna, who joins the mix after spending his freshman campaign at Northwest Nazarene. As a senior at Middleton High School, he filled up the stat sheet with 31 goals and assisted on 15 more.
POSITION PREVIEW – Midfield: Opponents were introduced to another challenge with the return of hometown product and University of Idaho transfer
Loy Howard who will be asked to pick up where he left off in 2021 with a team-leading eight goals and two assists from this midfielder position. Howard had a pair of hat-trick efforts against Utah State (Feb. 14, 2021) and Dominican (Mar. 9, 2021). Also, another newcomer who made a splash in his first season with the Yotes, last spring was
Dane Hamilton, who shared the team lead in points (10) with Howard. Hamilton had a team-high three assists to go along with seven goals. He had a pair of hat tricks against Utah State (Feb. 14, 2021) and Boise State (Mar. 20, 2021). Another key contributor to the Yotes' midfield will be
Joey Brant, who returns for his fourth season in the purple and white. Brant had four goals in the 2021 shortened season finds himself in the Yotes' record book - fourth all-time in points (136) and fifth in goals (92). Veterans
Seth Hale,
Anthony Dziok and
Parker Archuleta will provide experience in the midfield to the Yotes. Â Joining the program this spring is
David Alvarado, who last spring scored 26 goals and assisted on 14 to go along with 88 ground balls at Skyview High School in Boise.
POSITION PREVIEW – Long Stick Midfield: The Yotes have added
Daniel Skelton to the mix, who spent the last two seasons at the University of Idaho. In his two seasons with the Vandals, he scored twice and picked up 49 ground balls. Returning for his second season as a long stick midfield for the Yotes will be
Ty Burnett.
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POSITION PREVIEW – Face-Off Specialist: C of I will lean on multi-year starter
Hank Ontiveros to continue to win the face-off to set up a potent offensive attack for the Yotes. In the shortened season of 2020, Ontiveros lost just one face off and scored a team-high 12 goals with seven assists en route to All-America honors. Ontiveros is closing in on a pair of program records in ground balls (175) and face offs won (258). He already holds the school single-game record for ground balls (19). Â
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POSITION PREVIEW – Defense: Van Goyen and
Logan Wahl are in their second season in the program. A pair of newcomers -
Max Anderson and
Jamie Farden join the team after playing at Mountain View High School and Eagle High School, respectively.
POSITION PREVIEW – Goalkeepers: Between the posts, the Yotes will call on
Cade Brown, who is in third season with the Coyote lacrosse program. Brown, as a freshman, earned second team all-PNCLL honors. He finished the season with 165 saves and a 57-percent save percentage. He had eight double-digit save games. In 2020, he allowed just two goals in the two games on the season with 11 saves. The recruiting trail has brought in
Jacob Wong, who comes to the Yotes after being the starting goalkeeper for state champion Rocky Mountain High School last spring. In his first year as the starter in nine games between the posts he made 88 saves en route to a 4-1 record. At the state tournament, he saved 46 of 63 shots he faced in the tournament, giving him an overall save percentage of 73 over the three games.
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