Ryan ChartrandBoth the Cal Poly men’s and women’s lacrosse teams will be playing their final games of the regular season this weekend when USC, Michigan and UC Santa Barbara come to the Sports Complex.
“They should be great games,” junior Jackie Pugh said. “University of Michigan is who we played in the championships last year, so we’re excited for them to come over here.”
The women have gone undefeated for 13 games this season and are hoping to win their seventh Western Women’s Lacrosse League national championship in a row.
“We’ve won every championship since it started; we’re the only name on the trophy,” Pugh said.
With a record of 10-4 so far this season, the men’s team is currently ranked first in Division A Central of the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League and 16th in the national league, the U.S. Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates.
“We feel pretty good,” junior Seth Kweller said. “We’ve been going strong and just getting ready for playoffs.”
The Mustangs will be playing USC in their final game on Saturday at 2 p.m. USC is currently ranked fifth in Division A Los Angeles with a record of 6-7.
“It’s an important game for us to secure to go to nationals,” junior Mark Govan said.
The women will be playing two games this weekend, first against Michigan on Saturday at 11 a.m. and then against UCSB on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Pugh said that games against UCSB are exciting because fans from both schools are often able to go to games and cheer them on.
“Santa Barbara has always been a rival for us, but this year we’ve played them three times and we won every game,” she said.
Both of the teams recognized collaboration and bonding as a reason for their success.
“Usually a few people are friends, but this year we’ve all been hanging out and that’s really going to help us on the field,” Kweller said.
As for the women, Pugh said that a lack of selfishness is helping them play well.
“There’s an amazing team quality,” she said, noting that no one plays for themselves. “Everyone has different qualities they can bring to the table.”
Even though lacrosse is a club sport at Cal Poly, the players put in the same amount of practice and dedication that they would as NCAA teams. The main difference is where funding comes from.
As club sports, the lacrosse teams raise their own money through fundraisers. NCAA teams are funded by the school, and Cal Poly is simply lacking the money for it.
One thing both teams would like to see grow is fan support at games.
Pugh said that one of the problems they faced this season was a lack of competition.
“We just don’t get that excited,” she said.
Kweller added: “We’d love to have support. Come watch us finish our season strong.”