“We need to work on conditioning and stick skills.”

That is the assessment of NIU lacrosse coach, vice president and midfielder Marshall Kite after his group of stick men knocked off Eastern Illinois 15-8 and Illinois State 9-8 in overtime this past weekend.

In the Eastern game on Saturday the Huskies were led by attack Rich Fantozzi who netted four goals, while midfield Joe Curtis had the hat trick with three. New stick Jon Corteen, midfield, scored his first career goal and that was pleasing to Kite.

“Our first three lines ran hard and got us out to a big enough lead (12-4 at halftime) that we were able to play all our new players and get them some experience,” Kite said.

In the Illinois State game on Sunday, former Cornell great Tim Becker scored the game winner late in the first overtime session to give himself the hat trick and the Huskies a 2-0 start on the season. Other multiple scorers included Joe Curtis with his second hat trick and Rich Fantozzi with two goals.

The team now prepares for a home match with Wheaton on Saturday at 1:00. The game will be played on the field north of the Stevenson Towers parking lot and admission is free. Then on Sunday the team travels to Champaign to take on Illinois.

Kite considers the Illini their biggest rivals and sums up the feelings of the team. “It’s the school we love to hate,” he said.