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Oklahoma State Lacrosse: Cowboys have great chance to win first game this weekend

By Andrew Miller

May 24, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A general view of PPL park prior to the NCAA division I women's lacrosse championship between the Maryland Terrapins and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
May 24, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A general view of PPL park prior to the NCAA division I women's lacrosse championship between the Maryland Terrapins and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Oklahoma State lacrosse team sits at 0-3 this season, but they have a great chance to notch their first victory this weekend against Abilene Christian.

The Oklahoma State lacrosse program had another rough weekend as they extended their losing streak to three games to start the season. The Cowboys started the weekend with their first ever loss to the Tarleton State Texans 22-17. They followed that up with a loss to the Baylor Bears, at home, 22-10.

OK State has given up at least 22 goals in all three games this season. The defense has to improve to give the Pokes a chance to start winning some games. They have a great opportunity to notch their first victory of the season this weekend against Abilene Christian. ACU claimed their first victory of the season last weekend against Incarnate Word 12-11.

ACU’s freshman attackmen Griffin Gradke is the first player the Pokes have to slow down. Gradke scored nine goals in the first three games. Moreover, the Cowboys allowed one player to score at least nine goals against them in the Baylor and Tarleton games. They need to shut down Gradke to allow their offense to take their time to get some momentum and maintain a comfortable lead.

OK State’s freshman goalie Evan Parscale also needs one solid outing for a confidence boost to gain some momentum to finish the season out well. The Pokes opened the season against some tough opponents and that’s hard for a freshman like Parscale to get adjusted to quickly. Look for him to play well against ACU this weekend.

Cowboy junior attackmen Andrew Braden has nine goals in two career games against the Wildcats. Furthermore, the Cowboys defeated ACU by 25 goals combined in the last two seasons.

The odds are heavy in the Cowboys’ favor this weekend to claim their first victory of the season. This is the last contest for OK State until they take on fellow Lone Star Alliance Division II North rival the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on April 1.

At 0-2, the chances for the Cowboys to make a third consecutive trip to the LSA Championship are not looking too great. However, their matchup with ACU comes at the perfect time to get them on the right track.

Head coach Dustin Bunch is putting the pieces in place for a bright future for the Cowboy lacrosse program in Stillwater. The defense just needs to step it up and the Cowboys can take off for the rest of the season.

Next: Cowboys cannot defeat Hilton Magic

You can view the live score for this weekend’s matchup between the Oklahoma State Cowboys are Abilene Christian Wildcats here. You can view the entire 2017 OK State lacrosse schedule here.

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