Griffin Broad in net getting ready to save a shot.
Timothy Roesler | The Newberry Observer
Goalie Coach Ryan Erler, Team Captain Jackson Von Eschen, Sophomore Griffin Broad, Senior Owen Latchford.
Timothy Roesler | The Newberry Observer
Sophomore Attackman Baker Westmoreland.
Timothy Roesler | The Newberry Observer
Members of the men’s lacrosse team at Newberry College helped out at a community cleanup, last fall.
Courtesy of Carlton Kinard
NEWBERRY — The game of lacrosse has been growing in terms of popularity as more people are becoming familiar with the game.
According to InsideLacrosse.com: “Over the past decade, lacrosse sees growth in programs and growth in budgets.”
Newberry College added women’s lacrosse in 2012, this opened the door for the future of the sport locally. The Newberry men’s lacrosse team began their inaugural season spring of 2018, coached by Nick Cotter, an Ontario native and professional standout athlete.
Cotter was a three time All-American at Dowling College. He competed in the National Lacrosse League (an indoor professional box lacrosse league) for several seasons.
“Newberry certainly hired a great coach to lead this team, and his background speaks for itself,” said Daytin Vidovich, senior team captain.
The program, in its fourth season, is already beginning to make noise in the SAC and NCAA.
“When it comes to lacrosse, the South Atlantic Conference is one of the top Division II conferences in the country,” said Jeff Handman, assistant coach for the men’s lacrosse team.
In just two seasons in the SAC, the Wolves reached the conference tournament in 2019. Often when a new team joins a conference the prediction is for them to struggle the first three or four years, try and be above .500 and finish the season strong.
This momentum came to a halt in 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The team finished the season (3-3) and not much could be said other than, “next year will be our year.”
That would not be the case because the 2021 season would also come to an end due to the COVID-19.
The Wolves completed the regular season and earned their ticket to the conference tournament, but due to COVID-19 the season had to be cut short. However, a positive note from the 2021 season is that the team made history.
Newberry defeated Limestone College on the road when the Saints were nationally ranked 15th in Division II men’s lacrosse. Limestone has won five Division II NCAA titles. This was the Wolves first win against a nationally ranked opponent.
The team is not just doing the work on the field, but off as well.
Last fall, a handful of players and SGA representatives at the college teamed up to clean a local park.
For the past couple years, Newberry men’s lacrosse has donated $3,000 to the Cancer Association of Spartanburg and Cherokee counties. A Cancer Awareness game is conducted with players wearing jerseys with the name of someone who has been affected by cancer and the type of cancer, annually.
These are a few examples of how the team is giving back to the community.
With the 2022 season in full swing, the team is looking to be back in that playoff picture. The Wolves were picked to finish fifth in the preseason South Atlantic Conference polls.
Timothy Roesler is a student intern from Newberry College working with The Newberry Observer.