The Creighton club lacrosse team is counting on its freshmen to have a big impact this season.
The team lost a group of seniors to graduation and will depend on nine freshmen to take over their roles. Head coach Will Gilner said replacing those seniors will be the team’s biggest challenge.
“I look forward to working with the new players that will be relied on to replace [the seniors],” Gilner said. “We have a great freshman class and they will contribute right away.”
The lacrosse team competes in the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference and is one of 14 Division II teams. Senior Evan Cordrey said this year will be interesting because the team has so many new faces, but it will also be playing a lot of new teams.
“[The conference] has added a bunch of new teams to the league,” Cordrey said. “I am really excited because this year half of our team consists of freshmen players. We will definitely be learning to play with one another.”
The team opens up play this weekend at Benedictine on Friday and against Missouri Valley on Saturday. Gilner has been coaching at Creighton for 12 years and has seen the program continue to evolve. He said he hopes to keep the positive momentum going this year.
“Our team goal is to make the conference playoffs, something we have done each of the last nine seasons,” Gilner said.
Tommy Finn is one of the freshmen trying to make an impact right away. He has been a starter for the team in its scrimmages and he is ready for the season to finally begin.
“I think that we have a great team this year,” Finn said. “I have been a starter so far this season, and hopefully I will help the team out.”
Gilner said the job offers many rewards beyond the results on the field. He said he values his relationships with the players and loves watching them develop over their four years with the program.
“I feel that it is important to provide Creighton students with an outlet outside of the classroom,” Gilner said. “I want them to enjoy being a part of the Creighton lacrosse program as part of their overall college experience.”