Men’s lacrosse hungry for the title
Jesus Arce, Staff Writer
In the heart of North Greenville University, the men’s Lacrosse program meets with passion and commitment every day to train. These players feel the motivation to win after losing the championship final last year.
Head coach Corey Struss shares this feeling along with the players. They feel that this year is different from previous ones since the hunger to bring a championship has never been greater than now. In his words, there is something important to accomplish.
“It’s exciting to see which of the new faces are going to step up and really contribute. It’s an opportunity for us to get some revenge because we lost in the conference championship by one goal last year. So, it’s a great opportunity for these guys this year,” Struss said.
The final against Barton College served to fuel the fury of the players on the field. According to Struss, the bar has been raised this year and the results are eagerly awaited, making the coaches’ work a difficult task due to the level of demand.
“Losing last year gives us the authority to coach the guys harder than we’ve ever done. I thought we had a good year last year, but it wasn’t good enough. So that means whatever we did last year is in the past and we’ve got to be able to go one step beyond this year,” Struss said.
Stephen Santini, senior offensive midfielder, feels that this year is his last. It is undoubtedly an opportunity to leave his mark. Losing the final last year is something that has forced him to try harder.
“It wasn’t a good feeling when we saw the other team raise the trophy. So, we want to be that team this year. This year people are feeling hungry about it, and they want to win the championship,” Santini said.
Just as the desire to win has grown, so have expectations. According to Santini, last year’s regular season was a sample of what the team is capable of. Having a good average of viewers, the team wants to repeat the same as last season.
“Last year, we had our first winning season with over a 0.500 ratio of wins, which was huge for the program. It’s been 10 years since that’s happened. So, our expectations are to keep winning and keep going over 500 this year. And then, obviously, the conference championship,” Santini said.
Struss hopes to have all the support of the school to be able to make this season an unforgettable one. In his words, the help of the fans and the love towards the players means a lot to the team.
“I would encourage people to come out. We’ve got eight home games this year, which is a lot. We’d really love to have a lot of school support there. Lacrosse is fun. It’s very fast. It’s physical. It is. It’s a fun game to watch. Even if you don’t know what the heck’s going on. It’s fun,” Struss said.
Photo provided by Stephen Santini.
