Fullerton College women’s Lacrosse Team, the first in school history, is set and eager to start their first official season as a team.
The lady Hornet’s Lacrosse Team was admitted into the Western Women’s Lacrosse League (WWLL) back in November. The league is a club organization for all four-year colleges that do not have lacrosse as an intercollegiate sport.
The Hornets are currently in the Provisional division of the WWLL, along with Cal State Northridge, San Jose State, Sierra Nevada College, and Loyola Marymount.
Fullerton is also the only junior college team in the Western Women’s Lacrosse League, a tremendous accomplishment and a stepping stone for all other junior colleges.
Hornets head soccer coach, Pam Lewin, has spent the past year and a half organizing the idea of a women’s lacrosse team. Although the process has been an uphill battle and a bit challenging, she was finally able to find opponents and put a team in place.
Coach Lewin admits finding opponents was the most challenging part. No Division 3 school returned any of her phone calls or text messages and says she very fortunate to find the Western Women’s Lacrosse League.
“Fullerton College is always looking to add women’s sports, which makes this season and team even more excited for this year and the future,” Fullerton head coach Lewin stated.
As for the season, the team is set to play 5 games, spanding from Mar. 2 through Mar 30. Since the team is in the Provisional division of the WWLL, there are no playoffs, but that isn’t stopping Coach Lewin and the players from wanting to win.
“If we win one or two that’ll be huge for us, but just trying to be as competitive as possible is really one of our goals,” head coach Lewin emphasized.
As the women’s head soccer coach at FC, coach Lewin was able to recruit 12 of her soccer players to give lacross a try for the first time. The team currently stands at a total of 24 players, 12 soccer players and 12 girls with experience playing lacrosse before, a nice mix of players.
Women’s lacrosse is played with 12 players for each team on the field, including the goalie. The arrangement usually consists of 4 attackers, 3 midfielders, 4 defenders, and lastly, the goalie.
According to Lewin, both her and her soccer players are still getting accustomed to all the rules for lacrosse, as women’s lacrosse is a non-contact sport. Unlike women’s soccer. “Learning all the rules and all the nuances will be harder and take some time getting used to,” head coach Lewin explained.
As for the girls, they are eager to start playing. “I’m really excited to start playing because it’s my first time playing this sport,” Kayla Meza stated, soccer player and now lacrosse player at Fullerton College.
The experienced lacrosse players are also very excited with how much the first year lacrosse players have improved so far. “A lot of the girls are picking the sport up quick, so I think we have a good chance (at winning games),” Brooklyn Urtez said.
For some girls, they are using this new sport as a chance to get into better shape and learn a whole new sport. Sophomore and soccer player, Kaylee Medina sees this season as a chance to learn a new sport and have fun in the process. For the season, she just wants to get some playing time along the way.
The lady Hornets first game is this Saturday, Mar. 2 at Concordia University in Irvine at 11 a.m. With all the excitement about the new season, coach Lewin and her players are ready to start the season. “It’s been a really exciting process.”
