The fastest growing sport in the nation has a home in Auburn.
The Auburn University club lacrosse team is hosting the University of Tennessee tomorrow at 8 p.m. and Eastern Michigan University Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Auburn city fields on Shug Jordan Parkway.
Auburn topped the Volunteers last year and has never played against the Eagles of Eastern Michigan.
"UT was a very close game last year and they are off to a 2-0 start this year," said Marshall Clark, junior defenseman. "EMU should be a very good matchup, even though we've never played each other."
Junior midfielder Anthony Generotti said Tennessee could make a run to win the Southeastern Lacrosse Conference.
"Last year they were a young team that gained a lot of well needed experience; they will be a contender for the SELC championship this season," Generotti said.
Junior goalie Alex Barnes said he is very familiar with how Tennessee plays.
"I have played with or against most of their players throughout my high school career," said Barnes, a native of Brentwood, Tenn.
To the untrained eye, lacrosse can be a confusing sport. It is a lot easier to under- stand than one might believe, however.
There are 11 players in four positions on the lacrosse field: goalie, three defenseman, three midfielders and three attackman.
The attackman are the offensive players. There has to be three players on the offensive side of the midfield at all times or the team is penalized. "The attack has to be able to move the ball around quickly while looking for an open man for an easy pass," Clark said. "They must also be able to stop the opposing defense from clearing the ball."
Midfielders, or middies as they're sometimes called, are the two-way players.
"Middies are the workhorses of the game," Clark said. "They must play offense and defense and are subbed out constantly to try and keep them fresh."
Generotti said a midfielder has the burden of needing to understand all the offensive plays while also knowing all of the defensive schemes. "A midfielder must be very well conditioned," Generotti said. "They are constantly running when they are on the field."
Midfielders and attackmen use the same stick, with a head that has a mesh pocket.
"The stick is about 40 inches in length," Generotti said. "The pocket cannot be deeper than the diameter of the ball."
Defensemen, along with the goalie, try to prevent the other team from scoring.
"The defense must know where the ball is at all times and remain in between the ball and the opposing player at all times," Clark said.
Beside keeping the ball out of his net, the goalie has the duty of making sure the defense knows where it's supposed to be.
"The goalie is also responsible for communicating with the defense," Barnes said. "He needs to call out ball position and slides."
The defense is also charged with the task of clearing the ball after a shot or a turnover.
Defenders play with a longer stick than that of the attack and the midfield, but still use the same head.
"They have 6-foot poles to allow for extended checks," Clark said.
The goalie has the most different stick.
"The length of the shaft may vary but the majority of goalies use sticks around 40-42 inches," Barnes said. "The head of the goalie stick is much larger than any other position and is limited to 12 inches at the furthest point across with no rules on pocket depth."
A lacrosse field has 13 lines.
"There are two end lines, two sidelines six restraining lines that make up two restraining boxes, a halffield line and two wing lines," Barnes said.
From end line to end line, the field is 110-yards long and from sideline to sideline it is 60 yards.
"The goalie has a 9-foot crease around him," Barnes said. "Only the goalie and defenders are allowed inside the crease. If an attackman or opposing middie comes in, they get penalized."
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