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The coaches do not have the Hamline Athletic Department’s recognition and cannot represent themselves as a Hamline sport. The women’s lacrosse program is handcuffed as it tries to expand due to the team’s classification as a club sport. Further complicating the team’s strive for status, the coach is unable to recruit potential players to Hamline. If a lacrosse player was considering attending Hamline and desired to play lacrosse, the university would not recognize the enrollment. Lacrosse players are not eligible for the discounted prices of gamewear and equipment that the Athletic Department offers to varsity sports.

“We have to buy all our own stuff,” said first-year player Katie LaSota. “We play as a varsity team against other private colleges’ varsity teams, even though it is not an official sport,” said LaSota.

The team is forced to raise much of their own funds for operating the lacrosse club team. With varsity status, the team would receive substantially increased funds from the Hamline Athletic Department. The team has held numerous fundraisers around campus, selling t-shirts with the motto: “lacrosse: shafts, skirts, balls and nets.” The dedication of the team is palpable. In a recent game the team continued to play on despite heavy winds and a drenching downpour.

Recently the team has faced-off against some formidable private colleges. Their latest opponents have been renowned for their stick-handling skills. In the team’s most recent game at Hamline against lacrosse giant Gustavus Adolphus College, the Pipers displayed signs of progress. The attitude of the Gusties players looked overly confidant, as if they expected a quick and easy victory over the green club team. Despite the loss, Hamline gave the Gusties a run for their money. The team illustrated that despite their club status, Piper lacrosse came to play and would not be easily pushed aside. The Pipers lost 4-3.

Women’s lacrosse is played with a team of 11 players and one goalie. A lacrosse contest consists of two 30-minute halves. Each team is allowed one 90-second team time-out per half. Where women’s lacrosse differs from the men’s version of the game largely rests in the amount of contact. Most contact is illegal in women’s lacrosse, but that’s not to say the physicality of the game is missing. Players can still check opponents’ sticks in order to knock the ball out. After each goal and at the beginning of the second half, the game resumes with another draw (similar to a face-off in hockey). Penalties for women’s lacrosse are given in green and yellow cards. The green card is for a delay of game, a yellow card for one penalty and the player committing the foul must leave the field for three minutes. Two yellow cards are the equivalent to a red card and gets a player ejected from a game and the following game, if the red card is for unsportsmanlike behavior.

The lacrosse team’s season is a quick run in the spring, ending with their conference championships in the spring.

With additional reporting by Tom Becker