By Zach Waltz
Sports Assignment Editor
While St. Bonaventure does not have a Division I men’s lacrosse team, many male students get to play lacrosse regularly due to the men’s club lacrosse team.
After going 1-4 last season, this year’s team showed a lot of improvement going 4-1 in games against teams from around the area. Their only loss came in their first game of the season against RIT’s club team, 14-4.
After that setback, the Bonnies closed out the season on a four-game winning streak against Buffalo State, Rochester, Penn State Behrend and Fredonia. The team is in the Empire West Division II conference along with all aforementioned teams except PSU Behrend.
Coached by Klint Nephew, the team finished third in the conference behind Niagara and RIT Club.
Junior Joe Battaglia said the team did really well this year, and they will be extremely competitive in coming years as thefreshmen class improves.
“We played five games this semester and ended up winning four and losing one,” Battaglia said. “We really stepped up this year and played much better than we have in the past. This year’s freshman class was the best we’ve had since I’ve been here, and if those guys decide to stick with it, this team has a very bright future ahead of them.”
Since there isn’t a varsity team, any male students wishing to play lacrosse will look to the club team for lacrosse competition. However, Battaglia said the absence of a D-I team has no effect on the number of students who join the team.
“I really don’t think not having a D-I team affects people for coming out for the team at all,” Battaglia said.
The nice thing about the club team is that a lot of the students had little or no experience playing lacrosse before joining the team, according to Battaglia. He said the team is accepting of students of all skill levels, regardless of experience.
“There are no try outs and anyone can play whether they are an experienced player or have never picked up a stick before, and we welcome anyone who wants to give it a try to come out and practice with us,” Battaglia said.
Club lacrosse offers the best of both worlds in that students get to compete in lacrosse games while also being able to focus on academics or other extracurricular activities, he added.
Battaglia said the team is full of students that enjoy playing lacrosse, which makes it more fun for the entire team.
“I think playing club is a much more relaxed environment, and it’s a lot more fun than playing a D-1 sport,” Battaglia said. “Our coach still works us very hard, but he understands it’s a club team, and if you have school work or other obligations, it’s okay to miss a practice or two. And in many cases, D-1 athletes experience burnout and end up hating the game they are playing. We are here to play lacrosse because we enjoy it.”
