Utah Valley University has many exceptional club teams, including the women’s lacrosse team. The women’s lacrosse program prides itself on family orientation and positivity with one goal in mind: a chance to compete at nationals.
“I have really big expectations this season,” said club president SueAnn Van Valkenburg. “We just got a new coach. We have quite a few really good freshmen and [a] new goalie. I’m expecting that we’re gonna go to nationals and place pretty high.”
Van Valkenburg has been with the program since 2018 but is technically in her second season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that 2018-19 season, Van Valkenburg explains that the team went to nationals with the “luck in the draw” and ended up placing 11th.
Despite not being able to play an actual season in the last two years, Van Valkenburg is confident this team has improved since the 2018-19 season. During the 2018-19 season, the team lost to rival BYU by 20 points. This fall, the Wolverines played the Cougars twice, losing to the Cougars 10-9 in the second matchup after losing 12-4 in the first matchup. The team went 6-3-1 during the fall and beat the Utah State Aggies for the first time in program history.
“UVU Women’s Lacrosse is so grateful for the legacy left behind from players before and they’re only getting bigger and better,” said Van Valkenburg.
The Wolverines are part of the WCLA (Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates) and play against in-state rivals such as Utah State, Weber State, the University of Utah, and BYU. The Wolverines also play against Boise State and schools from Colorado such as Air Force, Colorado School of Mines, and Colorado State. In addition, the Wolverines face off against an in-state NCAA opponent in the Westminster Eagles during a tournament the Eagles host in the fall.
This season, the team begins playing in the Santa Barbara Shootout on the weekend of Feb. 15, where they’ll compete against Cal State Fullerton, conference rival Boise State, and UC San Diego. The team will play other aways games such as a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, and possibly a tournament in Arizona. The team will host a tournament on the fourth and fifth of March at the intramural fields as well, where they look to beat rival BYU.
The Wolverines have a new head coach, Douglas Jorgensen. Jorgensen’s coaching experience includes high school lacrosse, the University of Utah lacrosse as a goalie’s coach, and is now in his second tenure with the Wolverines. He also has a long resume of running national tournaments, which is something that stood out to Van Valkenburg and the team when they hired him.
“He’s led a lot of national lacrosse tournaments,” said Van Valkenburg. “So we liked that aspect because we wanted to start doing our own tournaments, which we haven’t done before this coach. Before, we never hosted any tournaments, and now we do.”
Jorgensen also has two daughters on the team. Aubrey Jorgensen, who is a former four-year softball player at Southern Virginia University, and Eliza Jorgensen. Aubrey joined the team as a goalie due to a lack of depth and has adjusted quickly, flourishing into a starting role.
The team generally recruits players through Instagram and tryouts. The team recruited a player from Kenya who played for the Kenya LAX team via messaging. In the summer, the team attends summer club tournaments and will meet with potential players. The program also holds a prospect day where seniors who want to come to play for the team the following year can meet with coaches and players.
As for tryouts, Van Valkenburg says, “anyone could really try out… we don’t charge a fee. You just show up and we usually have two or three days of tryouts. You just have to come with your stick, your cleats, and water bottle, and mouth guard, and just be ready to go.“
Home games are played at the Utah Valley University Geneva Fields. The team live streams games through Instagram @uvuwomenslacrosse, YoutTube @UVU Women’s Lacrosse, and Facebook @uvuwomenslax. Additional information about the team can also be found on Instagram and Facebook.
