It’s not considered a wake-up call but splitting a doubleheader with Truckee last week exposed areas to fine-tune with the High Sierra League Lacrosse playoffs on the horizon.
Despite falling out of first place to Galena (12-1), Oasis Academy (11-2) sits in second with one game remaining – a Homecoming tilt with Spanish Springs (6-7) Friday night at 6 at the county regional park. Oasis’ boys team, which is playing a JV schedule, hosts the Cougars at 4 p.m.
A win secures the No. 2 seed for next week’s regional tournament while a loss could drop the Lady Bighorns to third. The top two seeds host the semifinal round on Monday and the championship is Wednesday at Manogue.
“It’s extremely important as it is our last home game of the regular season and it will set the tone for Homecoming,” Oasis Academy coach Lisa Swan said. “A win will also get us pumped up and positive going into playoffs.”
The Bighorns and Wolverines split two games last week with Oasis winning 13-11 and Truckee winning 12-10. Swan said the series brought up areas to work on in this week’s practice, including ground balls and escaping from double- and triple-team coverage. Her team’s approach to the game, though, doesn’t change.
“We prepare diligently for each game, and I feel adding pressure to the girls or doing something out of the ordinary will only decrease our chance of success,” Swan said. “Consistency is the best preparation.”
While it’s still possible for Oasis to host the first playoff round even if it loses on Friday (Galena would need to defeat Truckee), Swan wants her team to take advantage of the moment and seal the No. 2 seed. A win on Friday, however, could help swing momentum just in time for the quick turnaround on Monday.
“Even more important is how we win,” Swan added. “Limping into the playoffs is never good. As coaches, we want to see maximum effort from the kids in this final game, along with game awareness and focus on the technique and strategy. Mistakes will happen, but we need to have confidence in our ability to control the tempo of a game and impose our will on other teams going into the playoffs.”
