Photo: Connor McCourtney

The Drake lacrosse club hit the road last Saturday for a pair of games at Winona State. The Bulldogs dropped a 9-6 decision to the host team and then lost 8-3 to St. Norbert. It was the second weekend of action for Drake in the Great Lakes Lacrosse League.

“We didn’t do as well as we wanted, and we didn’t have as many guys as we’d like,” senior and club co-founder Rien Zabor said. “But we’re definitely playing better together as a team, and our skill level is improving.”

Zabor said the team is doing well despite lacking the experience that other clubs in the league have. He is one of the few on the team who have past lacrosse experience, but he said the team is becoming sharper.

“We focus on the fundamentals,” Zabor said. “We don’t run set plays like other teams do, but just focus on passing, catching and scooping the ball.”

After three years of putting together the lacrosse club, the university finally recognized the club sport last spring. Drake hosted scrimmages last season, but nothing like the official GLLL games the team hosted for the first time at Drake Stadium on April 2. Zabor said he was surprised the league allowed a first-year member to host games.

“Usually the teams that host have been in the league longer,” he said. “Surprisingly, we were allowed to host in our first season.”

Zabor had a hat trick in both games last Saturday, but the talent and experience of Winona State and St. Norbert were too much for Drake to handle. Still, the team is focused on improving and ready for the next challenge.

“The program has grown a lot,” Zabor said. “It is growing quite a bit on campus, and the interest level is very high right now.”