Women's Lacrosse Coming to Southwestern

After hefty donations, Southwestern University is launching a new program. By Sydney McMinn

Southwestern University is launching a Division III women’s lacrosse team, thanks to $6 million in donations from two former student-athletes. The new women's lacrosse team will begin competition in the spring of 2014.

“Southwestern was on the forefront when we added men's lacrosse as a varsity sport,” said Southwestern Athletics President Jake B. Schrum in a press release. “It naturally follows that women's lacrosse would also become a varsity sport at Southwestern.”

Southwestern will join the University of Dallas as the only two universities in Texas to offer varsity lacrosse for women.

Kevin Drew Suspended

Syracuse announces Drew suspended after drunk driving incident. By Sydney McMinn 

Kevin Drew, senior defensive midfielder on the Syracuse University lacrosse team, has been suspended indefinitely from the lacrosse team following his arrest at around 3:30 a.m. Monday, October 24th.

Drew faces charges for driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest, passing a stop sign, speeding, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, failure to comply and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

The car Drew was driving was registered to John Desko, varsity lacrosse coach at Syracuse University. Desko’s son, Tim, is also a member of the team and Drew’s roommate.

Coach Desko released a statement Tuesday saying that the issue would be dealt with internally.

Drew has been a force on the field since his freshman year at Syracuse. He played in all 18 games that year and was a part of the fourth best defense in the country. His sophomore year, Syracuse’s defense was ranked first in scoring defense. During his junior year, Drew played in all 17 games as a defensive midfielder and was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. 

The LAX Super-Conference

Enough about football and basketball. Let's checkout the implications of Syracuse's move to the ACC for lacrosse. By Sydney McMinn      

(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

     
     While football seems to run the conference shake-ups in recent memory, Syracuse joining the Atlantic Coast Conference brings huge changes to the landscape of lacrosse nationwide.  
     Powerhouse programs like Maryland, Duke, and North Carolina currently make up the ACC along with 2011 National Champion Virginia. Adding Syracuse makes the ACC a lacrosse super-conference. And the expansion could continue. Villanova has applied for ACC membership and Georgetown may follow suit. If the ACC gains a sixth member, it will earn an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament every year.  The level of competition in the ACC will increase both on the field and off. Teams are going to have to start recruiting prospects earlier and more aggressively to compete with big-name teams in the conference. 

SU LAX's Time to Shine

After a heartbreaking loss to Army last postseason, ending any hopes of a three-peat, John Desko and the Orange look for revenge and their 11th NCAA title. By Sydney McMinn

Mid-April in Syracuse means the sun starts to come out of hiding and summer-itis kicks in for everyone. It also means the end of lacrosse season draws near. But the lack of motivation that seems to afflict the rest of Syracuse University has no affect on the 2011 men’s lacrosse team. Instead, the Orange hope to round out the regular season as dominantly as they have played up to this point to prepare for the impending postseason.

Desko (in the blue jacket)

The Orange started the season off strong with a 13-7 win over the then-No. 13 Denver Pioneers. SU showed its ability to work as a unit in this game, scoring most of the goals off assists, but struggled in the middle when Denver transitioned to a zone defense. Now that SU has seen it, though, they should be familiar enough to work around it. No. 18 Army visited the Carrier Dome next. The teams played a much closer, more intense game as SU was out for blood, hoping to avenge their loss to the Black Knights in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. SU started the game off strong, but allowed Army a chance to rally late in the game. SU held the lead, beating Army, 11-9.