The Kentucky Stickhorses return home after an off week to face the 2-1 Baltimore Bombers. They practiced over the weekend in Columbus, and learned they will be adding Canadian scorer Jesse Guerin to their offense.
The Stickhorses have struggled on offense, being held under ten goals against the Boston Rockhoppers twice. They face a tough test in Baltimore this week, and Devin Clifford says they just need to learn to adjust to the rest of the league.
“To rebound I think we need to just look at what can be done better, work on making adjustments and move forward.” Clifford said. “Boston is a good squad, but so are we, so we can’t let the loss get us down.”
Travis Bland, who has been the best offensive player for Kentucky this season, says they know what they need to do. “We had enough time over the two weeks to gather our thoughts on the loss. I think every knows what we need to do in order to start winning games, we just all have to be on the same page or its going to be a long season. We can’t afford to take time off during games. This weekend will decide which direction we want to go down.”
Baltimore lost their first game of the season last week to Boston, and part of that was the transition goals allowed to Boston. Clifford said that will be a key to the game.
“I think the key to Baltimore is going to be transition and possession. They move the ball well and have some players that can shoot, so the more we control the ball and keep it out of their hands the better. We also know how well Ginny can play, so it’s going to be important to make our opportunities count.”
Bland, meanwhile, says the ‘Horses need to execute on offense, which they have struggled with all season. “Our keys will be hard work and execution on offense. If we play tough D play use our transition game properly and work as a unit on offense we will end up with a 2-0 finish this weekend.”
Bland also says the offense has no excuse for their poor execution this season. “We have no excuse as to why our offense hasn’t been working as a unit. That’s something we need to discuss Friday and take it from there. We can’t rely on our D to score us goals. We all have to know and play our rolls in order to be successful”
Clifford agrees, saying they just need to find their groove and play smart. “Offensively we’re still working to find our groove. Guys are doing the right things and getting to the right spots but it’s just not all happening at the right time. With time our guys will start clicking. We also have to make sure we are being smart and fast about transition. By doing that we will give our goal scorers as mush time as possible on the O end.
“To steal a line from our owner, the only two games we are really concerned about winning are the last two in the playoffs. Everything else is part of the tune up process for championship weekend. We’re going to keep working hard for wins but win or lose we are concerned with coming out of each game with improvements to prepare for the final weekend.”
Bland says for the rest of the season they just need to play smart lacrosse. “Keys for the rest of the season will be hard work, execution, and smart lacrosse we need to stay out of the box. 5 on 5 we are the better team in the league, we can’t afford to take bad penalties it has cost us a couple quarters so far. Also our power play need to capitalize on our chances.”
Kentucky hosts the Baltimore Bombers twice this weekend in a series they need to come out on top in.
