Biola University has never had a women’s lacrosse team –– until now that is. The team has gone through plenty of hardships and trials to make this a reality, but their season has officially started this semester and they could not be more excited.

“In the beginning it was very interesting,” said sophomore Courtney Cocoris, president of the women’s lacrosse club team. “Starting a club team has been a lot of fun, but it has been hard.” She said the team struggled with coming up with game and practice times to match the girls’ schedules. Getting the word out, and finding an advisor were also issues.

Partnership from the beginning

However, Cocoris did not take on this challenge alone — junior Samantha Aviles was there from the beginning.

“Courtney and I were both at the spring club info meeting last year with the idea of starting a women’s lacrosse team,” Aviles said. “She (Courtney) played in high school and was looking to play again and, though I had never really played before, I’d taken the P.E. class my freshman year. I loved the sport and was also looking for an athletic outlet that was a bit more competitive than intramurals.”

As Aviles mentioned, Cocoris had played lacrosse before, but she is one of only five players on the team with any lacrosse experience.

Team still looking for a coach

This already troubled team has even more challenges considering that these lady Eagles are still without a coach. For now, sophomore Rocci Medawar, who has lacrosse experience, is stepping in as vice president of the team, as Cocoris fills in as coach.

But it is not easy trying to be a player and a coach at the same time, so the girls are hoping to find a coach who meets their specific criteria.

“It is a hard process (finding a coach), because we have an age limit. We have to have someone that is 25 years or older, has some experience with women’s lacrosse and is a Christian,” Cocoris said. “The other difficult part is finding someone who will do this as a volunteer. We are not able to pay for a coach at this time.”
Still, this has not brought the team down.

Team members enthusiastic

The entire team of 15 girls is excited about this season, and they are ready to take on any challenge that is thrown their way. Cocoris explained that lots of girls were recruited simply by word of mouth.

“All of those who are involved have either brought friends onto the team, or are still trying to bring friends onto the team,” Cocoris said.

Setting the right goals

This tightly knit group of girls has also clearly outlined their goals for this season. Having lost their first two games, they are prepared for a rocky start, but their goals go beyond just winning.

“One of our main goals is to glorify Christ in all that we do,” Medawar said. “We are using this team as a ministry. We pray for the teams we play before we play them, and pray with them after each game. We want to spread the gospel and doing so through the sport of lacrosse is pretty awesome.”

Glorifying Christ through the sport

Cocoris confirmed this aspiration when she said, “[One] of the goals we have for this season is to impact other teams by glorifying God in all that we do and by spreading the gospel… We want to show others our Christ-like attitudes.”

These girls obviously strive to win, but their sights are set much higher than on just a trophy. They have recognized the opportunity they have been given and have made their main goal to win souls to Christ.

The lady lacrosse team play their first home game Friday, March 4 at 7 p.m. on the turf.