Along with countless arrests and stories of keg-tapping glory, the weekend of the Mifflin Street Block Party once again marked the end of a season for the Wisconsin men’s club lacrosse team.
Playing against both independent and school-affiliated club teams, the Badgers, led by club founder and legendary coach Hal Rosenburg, braved a cold spring to finish admirably in one of the most promising campaigns in recent memory.
Although there were many games worth mentioning, the club’s defining moment this season occurred during a weekend in Chicago. The Badgers faced two independent club teams — meaning that they were playing against several former Division-I players. Having already lost to both of these teams just a week before, the brawling Badgers came up big and swept the second weekend series.
Senior defenseman Ben Robinson felt that this was the biggest moral victory of the season for the team.
“The week before everyone seemed afraid and we were a little overmatched,” Robinson said. “But then the next week we came out and beat both these teams that definitely thought they were better than us.”
In addition to providing former high-school standouts with the opportunity to remain competitive, the team also has a very tight-knit feel to it, creating the perfect environment for social interaction.
“It’s given me an opportunity to keep playing the game,” said Robinson. “Plus the guys are great. Everyone wants to play and have fun and we have always been able to mesh the two together really well.”
To say that the team has upside for the future would be a great understatement. The addition of skilled offensive players to a team already loaded with both offensive and defensive talent ensures that the next few years should prove to be prolific for the team.
“The team is stocked up far beyond what I’ve seen in five years here,” Robinson explained. “Offensively there have been a lot of additions that give us a little more goal-scoring pop. It’s rubbing off on everyone, too.”