Lacrosse is a widely known sport, being quite prominent on the East Coast. It is a contact, team sport, played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. Positions include the goalie (who protects the goal and prevents the opposing team from scoring), defenders (who intercept passes and mark attackers), attackers (who attempt to score goals) and midfielders (who transition the ball between offense and defense).
Lacrosse began in the northeast, so it is more popular in that region. The top five states for lacrosse include New York at number one, Massachusetts at number two, Maryland at number three, Illinois at number four and California at number five. Most recently, lacrosse has been identified as one of the fastest-growing sports.
Amelia Fitzpatrick is a senior at Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School and has been playing lacrosse since freshman year. Fitzpatrick says, “I would like people to know that it’s [lacrosse] is actually a really cool sport and there’s a lot of parts of it that people don’t know about”.
“It’s [lacrosse] such a fun sport to be a part of because there’s so much that goes on and so many different parts to it,” says Mia Larson, a junior and an IBW women’s lacrosse player.
Currently, lacrosse is not an official sport in the Portland Interscholastic League, and is considered a club sport instead. This complication affects team funding from PIL and the Oregon School Activities Association, and it also affects the team’s accessibility.
“We don’t get buses. Monica, [the school’s athletic trainer, who is not available to attend because lacrosse is considered a club] doesn’t come to games, so when we have injuries at our games, it’s up to our coaches to help,” says Larson. There is no equipment provided besides goals and jerseys. The women’s lacrosse team continues to fundraise for the things they need.
This year, IBW’s women’s lacrosse has two teams, varsity and junior varsity. Our school’s women’s lacrosse team has not had two teams since before COVID-19.
“I think that it’s definitely a good opportunity to let every player get their time on the field because before we had such a big team that half our team was not getting playing time. The JV team is definitely going to give them the opportunity to get that chance. I do like that our practices are still together and we’re all still really supportive of each other, it’s a new thing that everybody’s adjusting to,” says Fitzpatrick.
The IBW Women’s Lacrosse team was eighth in the state last year. “I think a lot of people don’t realize that we are actually very competitive in our league. We’re hands down in the most difficult league in the state, probably. We’re very competitive and we love to have a good time, but we’re also on the hunt this season,” says Sophie Lafrenz, a junior and IBW women’s lacrosse player.
Women’s Lacrosse’s last home game is on April 28. Cleveland at 7 p.m., and their senior night is on May 6 at 8 p.m.
