Talk about a case of hurry up and get ‘er done.
A makeshift team of determined lacrosse players brought home a silver medal from the Canada West Field Lacrosse League provincial tournament in Coquitlam last weekend, despite only being together since January.
Langford resident Dale Sutton, player-coach for the team, helped spearhead efforts to assemble players for the tournament. The Bullax team is made up of mostly West Shore residents ranging from 22 to 49 years of age. Playing in the tournament is part of Sutton’s efforts to boost participation in senior men’s field lacrosse in the area with the goal of eventually finding enough players for two teams.
After getting permission to play in the tournament from the B.C. Lacrosse Association, the team managed to cobble together some practices at the University of Victoria before heading off to the mainland.
Although they faced a gruelling schedule of six games in two days, some of the Bullax victories included Abbottsford 8-5, Maple Ridge 7-4 and Vancouver 11-5 before ultimately falling to UBC in the finals by a score of 5-4.
“The silver medal is a real testament to Island pride,” Sutton said. “We’re definitely going for the gold next year. I hope the success we had this year will encourage more players to get involved in senior field lacrosse.”
reporter@goldstreamgazette.com