Freshman trio looks to contribute to lacrosse

Most freshmen approach college as a fresh start to their lives. They migrate to campus and leave behind all the things they didn't accomplish in high school and move on to a new set of goals. But freshman club lacrosse players Ryan Furman, Michael Link and Brennan Matthews want to achieve one of the few goals that eluded them in high school -- a lacrosse championship.\n"We want to complete something we started in high school," Matthews said.\nThe freshmen hope to contribute to an IU team that received votes in the national preseason Top 25 coaches' poll and is ranked seventh in the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association. \nThe team, lead by senior captains Justin Kohl and Matthew Roemer, looks to build on a successful fall preseason campaign that saw aggressive play by the Hoosiers lead to routs of conference foes Dayton and Purdue by scores of 10-0 and 20-1, respectively. The Hoosiers open up CCLA conference play this weekend when they travel to the University of Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers.\n"We have good upperclassmen who will lead the team," Matthews said. "We want to come in and contribute to the team and hopefully win some games."\nIf their past success is any indication, the freshman trio will do more than their fair share in contributing to the team. Furman was named second team All-Conference and earned a spot in the Illinois All-Star game last season for his play as midfielder. Furman will be joined in the midfield with Link, who played on the team for all four years.\nBut Matthews is the one who looks to make the biggest impact.\nMatthews anchored the Libertyville, Ill., High School defense and was awarded with first team all-conference and first team all-state honors last season to go along with a second team All-Conference selection his junior year. Matthews turned down a scholarship from Vermont's Division I team and offers from other smaller schools to come to IU. Although lacrosse is one of his passions, Matthews made his school choice based on the quality of school, a sentiment shared by all three freshmen. The fact that IU had a club lacrosse team was icing on the cake.\nThe Libertyville classmates have unfinished business to settle in their first season in Bloomington. The trio led the Libertyville Wildcats to the Illinois state championship last season, only to fall in heartbreaking fashion to Loyola Academy in overtime. This devastating end to four successful years of high school lacrosse has been used as motivation for future success. The freshmen learned the lesson of hard work gone unrewarded, but now they want to help the Hoosiers to conference and national championships.\n"Getting to state and then losing was extremely disappointing," Link said. "We want to do our part for the team and make up for it here."\nFor the freshman trio, friendship is not solely centered on their mutual love for lacrosse. Link and Matthews have been friends for 12 years since their days in elementary school. Furman completed the trio six years ago in middle school. Their friendship goes beyond the lacrosse field, they said.\n"We've been through a lot," Furman said. "It will work to our advantage because we have established unity on the field together."\nFurman, Link and Matthews have more on their minds than having the opportunity to play and contribute to the team. They want to finish something they began the moment they first picked up a lacrosse stick.\n"We won't be satisfied until we win," Link said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Chris Engel at ccengel@indiana.edu.