Women’s Lacrosse Club gears up for Nationals

Visible heat waves radiated off the turf of the Dobbie Lambert Intramural Fields as the MSU Women’s Lacrosse Club fought for a regional title last Sunday.

The Women’s Lacrosse Club regional championship was held in Bozeman on April 19. There, MSU took on the number two seed University of Denver (DU) in the last match before the national tournament in May.

“We faced a good team, this was the second time we played them so it’s getting good reps against high-caliber competition. It's good to have that going into nationals,” said midfielder and freshman Olivia Rembelski.

The ladies ran up and down the field for nearly two hours as each team’s score chased the other’s. Despite a long, hard fight, the ‘Cats fell to DU 6-9, putting a mark on the team’s previously undefeated season.

“6-9 was the score. Not the result we were hoping for, but it’s alright,” said team captain and goalie Ellyce Davis. “It’s been a great season so far. We held the number one seed in the nation the entire regular season, into that last week.”

The Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates’ (WCLA) recently announced seeding for the national tournament, with MSU sitting second after the loss to DU, who is now ranked first. According to Davis, though the outcome of the match wasn’t what the ‘Cats were hoping for, they still learned a lot.

“It was our last game before nationals, so it was a good learning opportunity for us and it gave us a chip on our shoulder before we go into those games,” Davis said.

The (WCLA) National Championship will take place in Naples, FL, on May 11 to 15, according to its website. MSU will travel there after the semester ends, hoping to take home the title.

“It’s going to be really fun. We love to travel a lot, so it's going to be a great time with the team just in terms of bonding and then also facing a lot of good competition,” Davis said. “We get to see a lot of teams from the East Coast and West Coast that we don't usually play during regular season.”

The ladies are focused on preparing for the tournament, especially now that it no longer interferes with school, according to Davis.

“Usually, it happens during finals week, so this is the first year that it's the week after finals, which will be hopefully better than taking our finals on the road,” Davis said. “It's always a fun time just to hang out with the girls for a week and play some good games.”

Davis said that off the field, the players foster a positive environment and build strong relationships.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with this team. I would say some of my best relationships at MSU are from this team because we spend so much time together during the regular season,” Davis said.

The MSU lacrosse team is open to all students, and members can choose to compete with the travel team or just play casually. 

“This is my first year and I love it so much,” Rembelski said. “I can definitely feel that there's so much camaraderie and so much fun with the girls getting so close. It’s just awesome to be a part of.”

To learn more about the team and follow its trip to nationals, visit https://www.wcla.club/page/show/8629941-montana-state-university.