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Locked at 5-5 in double overtime against Electric City, Syracuse club lacrosse got a much-needed stop. In transition, Christian Margita dodged defenders as he moved down the alley. Margita approached the crease before slotting a shot past the goalie, giving the team a double overtime win.

“That was an awesome moment,” team president Mack Wolschina said.

This season, SU’s club men’s lacrosse has made big strides. After playing an in-state schedule last year, the team expanded, scheduling games against teams outside of New York. Despite having a young roster, the Orange want to play better competition.

“Hopefully, as we grow our team, and increase our funding, we’ll enter more tournaments with bigger teams like Maryland, Ohio State and Penn State,” Wolschina said.

With more players this season, Wolschina wants to get the Syracuse community involved using fundraising so the team can travel around the northeast. The sophomore’s goals are to work with local charities and students to raise awareness about the team.

“I think that’ll be huge in terms of our recognition on campus, not only in terms of funding but people coming to our games as fans,” Wolschina said. “Maybe people who didn’t even realize that we had a club team (could come out).’”

Previously, the awareness of the team was low, but Wolschina said he noticed a change. Friends and family traveled on the road to Fairfield and Albany, along with more students attending home games.

With word spreading, students like freshman Brendan McNama are choosing to join. McNama didn’t bring his equipment to school because he didn’t know SU had a club lacrosse team. He brought his equipment this semester after hearing his friends talk about how much they enjoyed playing.

Wolschina and co-captain Mike Lupton invited McNama to a practice, using it as a tryout. McNama, a goalie, impressed in net and continued to practice with the team ahead of the spring season.

“It was super easy to transition in and they played a fairly familiar formation to what I was used to,” said Will Manning, a junior attack.

McNama and Manning have been key additions to the team. Manning has been a solid contributor in the attack while McNama stepped up as the starting goalie when Jamie Horton went down. McNama is seen as one of the leaders on the young squad.

“(McNama) motivates everyone,” Wolschina said. “He comes up with some great saves in times when we really need it.”

Off the field, Wolschina and Lupton control the logistics of the team. As co-captains, the duo schedules games and practices.

“I really think they did a great job of pulling everyone together and pulling off a great season,” McNama said.

This season, Syracuse finished 3-6 while competing in the National College Lacrosse League Division-II. It lost its last three games, including a last-second defeat against Cornell. Despite the below .500 record, the Orange lost five games by two goals or less. With their captains coming back next season, the team feels it will bounce back, Manning said.

Even though the team has struggled at times, they’ve found ways to bond. At the end of practices, he likes playing six-on-six or touch football.

“I feel like those six-on-six times, you’re not afraid to check a little harder, push a little bit more and find that competitiveness,” Manning said. “Even though you do love the defense, it’s your job to make them better and in some ways, I will open up to say I talk my fair share of smack talk.”

These experiences enhance the team’s culture, bringing them closer together.

“(It’s a) really great team culture. It’s a great group of guys,” Lupton said.

Published on April 27, 2023 at 12:19 am