Sports
Lacrosse dawgs
The Pointer
Rnech142@uwsp.edu
Wind whipped across the field while the players deftly scooped the ball into the nets atop their sticks and flung it once again to their teammates in the endless pursuit of a goal.
With a flurry of players and the thwack of a stick, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Lacrosse club team defended their turf against University of Minnesota last Sunday.
UW-SP’s only home match this season, the Pointers faced the formidable Golden Gophers. Though their opponents went on to capture the match with a 15-6 score, treasurer Travis Feller was convinced the team held together under the weight of their aggressive adversaries. Both teams are a part of the Upper Midwest Lacrosse League.
“We were not intimidated but we just kind of had to give it our best,” he said. “These guys have been playing since they were ten years old. Lacrosse is big sport in Minnesota and we held with them today.”
According to Lacrosse president and goalie Nate Komorowski, the team’s numbers proved to be a challenge in the match. UW-SP played with only half the number that their opponent had in their game against the Gophers.
“We had seventeen guys compared to them, who had 40 to 45 guys. This year we are just trying to get a pace started. It’s kind of a rebuilding period,” said Feller.
“We are still in the process of growing. We have a lot of young kids, a lot of potential, a lot of athletes,” Komorowski remarked. “We just need to really get numbers so we can have more lines, so we can kind of stay fresh.”
The team members say it is easy to get involved in the sport, even if someone has never played in the past.
“We have a lot of guys who have never even played in high school before,” Feller remarked. “Come on out to any practice. If students want to come in, just come and watch, pick up a stick, through around a little bit in the Fall… Anybody’s welcome.”
Though the team is a club and players must provide their own equipment, the players say they would not have it any other way. Commitment to the team is also a required element in any incoming players.
“They claim it’s the fastest game on two feet,” said a sweaty Feller with a grin. “As a former hockey player, which costs a lot of money, and come in as a college student kind of reluctant to pay the money, it’s worth every hour, minute and second. It’s a lot of fun.”
The season is not over for the team, who faces University of Minnesota-Duluth and Mankato on April 20. Both games will take place at Griggs Stadium in Duluth.
Feller says he’s personally not nervous for the match but is excited to learn what he can from the number one team in the country, while Komorowski said the team has big goals for the future.
“Hopefully we keep building up, hopefully we start really competing against those other Minnesota teams,” he said. “Four or five years ago we were in the top two, the top three of the conference every year.”