The men’s lacrosse team looks to expand their team and hope to become more than just a club on campus. The team practices Monday through Thursday, 4-6 p.m. at Alder Field.

The team is looking to grow and encourage people to experience and enjoy the game of lacrosse. 

Senior Captain Logan Seals said he recognizes that lacrosse is a very demanding sport. 

“Lacrosse is a very physical sport. If you do not play physically, you will get run through. It’s a very big mental sport as well, just as most sports are,” Seals said. “If you focus too hard on your performance, it’ll distract you from how you play.”

The men’s lacrosse team plays against schools in the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League Division II. That includes club teams from Western Washington University, Gonzaga University, Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Montana. 

Dominick Nagle, sophomore and assistant captain of the team, said preparation and practice for league games starts by doing warm-up stretches to make sure no one gets hurt during the game. They then go into warm up drills, such as catching, throwing and moving the ball around to simulate game-like scenarios. 

The lacrosse team also practices and designs new plays for future games.

“We learn from [the] other higher division team’s plays, or higher level coaches,” Nagle said. “We can get knowledge from a bunch of other tools also. Our coach, Evan Schnitzius, also helps produce plays.”

Nagle said all this practice is what helps the men’s lacrosse teams score in league games. 

“In past lacrosse seasons, if we’re playing against a team that can actually play, then we score around 15 shots,” Nagle said. “If we’re playing a bad team, then the score can get up to 20 plus, it can go pretty high.” 

Senior defender Quincy Plaisted said that the goal for this year’s team is to just keep getting better. 

“Right now we’re just getting back on our feet and building up the team to where it was before quarantine,” Plaisted said. “Having more players and overall just having a good foundation to start up with. Hopefully we can make our team more into a sport and not just a club. We want the team to become an actual sports team like rugby did.”

Plaisted said joining the lacrosse team and being a part of a sports club has many benefits. 

“Basically, it’s just fun to get out and show off your athletics,” Plaisted said. “You get to join a great team with great guys. You also get to learn about the rules of lacrosse while making new friends. It’s just an overall great time to add to your daily life. Just go out there and have fun on the team and enjoy the company that is there with you.”

Nagle said it’s great to play against other teams and see the progression in the games. He also said he is proud to be a captain and see how much they improve in a small amount of time.  

“CWU has a great lacrosse program,” Nagle said. “It’s all great guys on the team which makes it a lot of fun.”

For more information about joining the lacrosse team, contact the team via email [email protected]. Nagle said that the team is open to new players anytime and wants new people to join and no experience is needed.