Not even a snowfall could defeat the spirits of the Lacrosse club as they kicked off the start of their spring games, hosting Winona, March 29.

“The team is strong, we work well together and we’re doing our best to make the veteran players better,” junior building construction management major Matt Mikulecky said.

The Lacrosse club saw a growth in numbers this season, with 36 strong. Rookie players accounted for about 20 of those numbers.

Photograph by Jessica Vretenar
UW-P Lacrosse played against Winona March 29 despite field conditions. The Pioneers won their only home game 5-4.

“Although a lot of our players are new to the sport, we still have enough experienced players to advise the younger guys and show them how to get better,” junior business construction management major Brent Beveroth said.

Two years ago the club saw barely 25 players for the team, the growth seems to be from a widespread popularity of the sport in high schools.

“Two years ago we only had three players with prior experience in high school and this year we have six or seven new guys that have a year or two under their belt,” Mikulecky said.

Nothing seemed to dampen the team’s spirits, as they scored quickly in the first half from a run by Mikulecky, but Winona answered back and led the game 4-2 at the half.

“Defense played extremely well, they kept us in the game,” Jordan Hass, sophomore criminal justice major, said.
Hass led the defense in the goal with crucial saves as Winona battled to keep their lead, but lost it as UW-Platteville hammered past their defense.

Photograph by Jessica Vretenar

“We came from behind, with two quick goals,” Mikulecky said. “Once we started, our momentum couldn’t stop.”Ryan Koehn, junior physical education maor, shot the game-winning goal .

“It was definitely a team effort, I just happened to be at the right spot at the right time,” Koehn said of his first goal with the team. “It’s a pretty awesome feeling being tied up and knowing I put it in.”

The guy’s defeated Winona 5-4, scoring three of those points within the final minutes of the game.

“We still need to work on rotations and conditioning, but we played really well together,” Hass said. “We just need to keep talking to each other on the field.”

In order to keep momentum strong, practices will continue to focus on conditioning, and keeping up the spirits of those who didn’t play as much as desired, Beveroth said.

“We need people to stay focused and keep their heads up because their chance will come this weekend,” Beveroth said. “With the competition it’ll be nice to have plenty of subs to give the starters a break.”

The team will head to La Crosse Saturday, April 4, with hopes of continuing off their opening success.

“It’s hard to predict what will happen in the Great Lakes Lacrosse League with so many teams and how fast the game is growing,” Mikulecky said. “We have a great shot at winning our division and making a run for the championship.

“Beating undefeated Winona was a huge confidence booster, especially since it was our first game and it was at home,” Beveroth said. “If we play every game like we did against Winona there’s no reason we shouldn’t win our conference.”