CORVALLIS, Ore. -- After starting conference play with two convincing wins against Simon Fraser and Washington State, the Oregon State men’s lacrosse team has another tough test this weekend against No. 20 Sonoma State.

Over the past few seasons, OSU and Sonoma State have a history of close matchups and Beavers coach Chad Stelling is preparing his team for what will be another challenging contest.

“It’s good to have Sonoma back at home again this year,” said Stelling. “They are a really strong team that plays a different style than we are used to and it will be an incredible test for us this weekend.”

So far this season a big part of the Beavers success has been because of their defense, which is lead by senior captain Dylan Roach and senior goalie Nick Widmer. During practice this week, Roach, who was first team all-conference a season ago, has been preaching communication to his defensive unit.

“Keeping our volume up and communicating with each other on defense is super important,” said Roach. “Our defense has done a great job so far this year communicating with the midfield and that was definitely on display against Chico and in the first half against Simon Fraser.”

On the offensive end of the field, Stelling will continue to rotate attackers, but will be without Seth Goddin and Nate Gruen this weekend as both are out with lower body injuries. This gives an opportunity to some of the younger players who are gaining confidence within the offensive system.

“We will be relying on a few of our freshmen to step up again this week, these are guys who have been in the rotation and have had some success already, but now we need them to be starters” said Stelling. “It’s going to be a little bit of a carousel for us at attack, which makes it difficult for us to find some continuity. We will continue to rotate things around to find a personnel group that works.”

One player Oregon State will look towards on offense is senior midfielder Colin Kacinski. But the senior captain is focused on more than just scoring goals and fueling the attack this weekend.

“I’m focused on keeping spirits up, especially during practice. We know this is a big game this weekend,” said Kacinski. “Being a captain and leader, I’m trying to set an example and show our younger guys that working hard here in practice will pay off in our games.”

With a solid week of practice, the Beavers look to add another Top 25 win to their resume at home against Sonoma State. Game time is for 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 5 on the OSU campus.