In the state normally known for their cheese, and even better for the Super Bowl championship Packers, Wisconsin has another team at the Collegiate level, other than the newly announced DI jumper, Marquette, to be proud of. Carthage College, a quiet, well-respected private college that is nestled into Kenosha has been quickly growing into a lacrosse program that is starting to gain some popularity, and even some respect. Not only in their conference, the MLC, but even in Division III as a whole. They may not be a top tier power right now in their NCAA division, but that's the way they like it, the underdogs, and they'll take it. Underestimate them, and you'll be in for a long day. This year the Red Men are 12-4, which is an improvement from last year when they went 8-6. Moreover, just the year before that, they only went 3-7. Nevertheless, you can see what I am getting at with how much the team has improved as a whole, and teams they were getting blown out by, they are now beating and getting respect just two years later.
What has changed in those two years? Well, I have talked to a few people on the team such as: Sean Farrell, Nick Condon, and Cory Childs. In fact, don't let Cory's last name fool you as he doesn't even play the game as a child! He is one of the top scorers on the team with 62 points, and attributes the improvement of the team to a better overall sense of morale, better talent, better training, and just an overall improvement as a team with the basic elements of the game. It's the little things that matter.
Coach Farrell and I, who share a common bond, as we both served in the military, explained all the elements of the team to me, and even the future of the team, which seems very bright. In fact, the best aspect of team is the fact that everyone doesn't just focus on lacrosse all the time, of course when it's game time, it's all about winning, but they all find time to have fun and do things as a team outside of lacrosse to ensure they don't get burnt out. Moreover, they welcome anyone who is interested in the team, and do whatever they can to ensure they answer any questions a recruit may have, which proves to be very vital in the recruiting process. Nick Condon, a Missouri Native, who seems to be linked to me in many ways, and who's Godfather was Mike Sennett, God rest his soul, has talked to me extensively about the team and explained the numerous elements of the team. The players perspective always proves to be the best avenue of approach when writing about a team, especially when it's sports related, and he even stated a lot of what Cory was saying, and even added that with playing well against teams that they were beaten by in the past has raised the confidence tremendously already. Confidence is infectious, but talent isn't, so what Carthage is doing with their talent is making the most of every practice and finding where they are weak, building a structured gameplan, scouting, and executing thoroughly, and it's working very well. Here are the stats from the official team page.
The Red Men just took on Adrian this past weekend, but they will be taking on Adrian again on May 7th in their conference tournament. While they only lost by one point in their last game to Adrian, the Red Men are looking to rebound and regroup to overcome that loss and get some redemption, and while they are looking to do so, they know Adrian is not going to just let them have the game, Carthage will have to come and take it from them. And now, for the action shots of the lacrosse team! All photo's are taken by Karen Munthe, and anyone wanted to use her photo's will need her consent!
Hope everyone enjoyed getting to know the Carthage College Lacrosse team, and if anyone wants to shoot a couple of the guys a message on Twitter, Nick Condon, Adam Sammarco, and Hunter Douglas all have accounts!
As always, Carthage College is looking for quality Student-Athletes, so if you believe you're an individual who posseses the talent in the classroom that matches the talent on the field then I suggest you contact one of these two men below:
Lastly, if you ever want to get in contact with me, feel free to shoot me an email at josh@umgoblue.com or send me a message over Twitter @TheRealHag and I will get back at ya ASAP!