Pitt women’s club lacrosse utilizes large team, chemistry to national competition

In The Pitt News “Best Of” survey, women’s club lacrosse secured the title of best club sport. Between taking home several club national championships and traveling across the country for tournaments each year, it’s no wonder the team has almost 50 members in its roster. 

Despite being a highly competitive and successful club sport, the team doesn’t make any cuts. Regardless of skill level or experience, all are welcome, and the team values the absence of cuts. But with a considerable number of girls on the team, it adds a competitive edge for the 12 starting spots.

“We have travel rosters for some tournaments, but it’s like you have such a huge community bigger than a normal 20-person team,” junior defender Shoshana Rosenthal said. “It’s always competitive because the travel rosters change so much, so people are always fighting for those spots. It’s such good competition all of the time.” 

Senior defender Lauren Lindsey also likes the large team size, as she said it contributes to the team’s success.

“There’s so many girls that can make you better and push you to be better,” Lindsey said. “So, when you go against other teams, you already have a step-up on them because you’re playing against these girls that are so good.” 

Lindsey explains that having large numbers at practice greatly contributes to the growth of a successful club.

“Because we have so many people, we can do full scrimmages in practice and full field scrimmages,” Lindsey said. “We have a lot of depth and a lot of variety. And I think that definitely contributes to our success on the field.” 

Besides having a large roster, the team has many other areas of interest as well. The team spends its weekends during the spring semester traveling to different tournaments across the country.

This year, they have already traveled to Arizona. The team will also travel to Virginia for a competition at James Madison and finish up the season with regionals at Virginia Tech and nationals in Wichita, Kansas. 

Due to the high costs associated with travel, the team collaborates on fundraising efforts to cover expenses. Club women’s lacrosse receives minimal funding from Pitt, prompting the team to rely heavily on fundraising activities.

The team’s major fundraiser, Engage Pitt, typically generates around $15,000. Each team member emails people they know to attract donors. Additionally, the team organizes fundraisers at Chipotle and Piada to supplement its efforts.

In addition to fundraising together, the team also builds strong teamwork on and off the field. Senior goalie and captain Ana Youngblut has spent all four years of college with the team. She keeps returning because of the strong bond among her teammates.

“I think we all just really mesh together really well,” Youngblut said. “Whenever we play, we know how the other people on our team play. Just having that dynamic is so important on a lacrosse field, because if everybody just plays differently and for themselves, it’s just not as effective as playing together as a whole team.” 

Youngblut also emphasized that the team’s chemistry sets them apart from other club lacrosse teams.

“We just hype each other up so much,” Youngblut said “My sophomore year at nationals, we won an award that was basically a team spirit award. We were all just having fun on the sidelines. All the refs love having our team because we’re just really friendly players.”

She elaborated that her team maintains a positive attitude toward lacrosse, regardless of the situation.

“If we’re not doing well, we never get aggressive or frustrated,” Youngblut said.

Lindsey echoed this sentiment and said that it’s the people that make her keep coming back to play.

“At the end of the day, it’s not the lacrosse you remember,” Lindsey said “It’s the hotel stays, the car rides and the practices. I’ve definitely met my best friends on the team.” 

As well as helping to develop players overall, the club lacrosse team also contributes to players’ personal growth as college students and people. 

​​Both Rosenthal and Youngblut hold leadership positions within the team and attribute their growth as leaders to their roles in club lacrosse. Youngblut, who serves as team captain, highlighted how her leadership responsibilities have contributed to her personal growth.

“It’s definitely helped me learn how to effectively communicate with people,” Youngblut said, “And just how to stay organized and manage the business side of the team with the social and athletic aspect as well.”

Overall, all three players have enjoyed their time as players on the club lacrosse team and are extremely optimistic for the remainder of the season. Lindsey believes that her team can take home another championship this season.

“We’ve got some pretty good girls on the team that I think could stand a chance at that national championship,” Lindsey said. “I think we all have that mentality that we could do it.”