With 32 women on the roster — 15 of them rookies and five seniors — the Vikings are training and working hard to prepare for a tough season ahead. 

Co-captains sophomore Audrey Mallon and seniors Jamie Bryce and Lea Reuss train for the upcoming season by lifting weights and sprinting.

Bryce played varsity lacrosse at Bellevue High School for four years.

“It’s incredible because the game is expanding so much on the West Coast,” Bryce said. “High school was the earliest team I had around, and now there are second and third graders.”

Bryce didn’t have the chance to play much before college, so she is happy to play at Western.

“It’s nice that now we’re getting [lacrosse] in college,” Bryce said.

Almost all of the freshmen played lacrosse before attending Western, Bryce said.

“Now we’re getting freshmen in that have already played the same number of years as us, which is nuts,” Bryce said.

With the freshmen having experience under their belts, Bryce has high hopes about the roster.

“It’s nice to have a decent amount of rookies who know what they’re doing,” Bryce said.

Mallon played during middle school in Hood River, Ore. She continued playing lacrosse her first three years in high school but could not play her senior year due to an injury.

During the fall, the team spends their practices teaching freshmen how to play at a more competitive level.

“[In] winter you hit the ground running with three workouts a week and three practices a week,” Bryce said.

The three co-captains coach the team, which includes choosing lineups depending on skill and practice attendance.

“You’re more accounted for by having your peers be your coaches,” Bryce said.

Running the team is more expensive this year because the state allocation was cut in half, Bryce said. Returning players pay $150 and new players pay $250 each season.

Practices and games are only canceled for lightning since the metal sticks make it unsafe, Bryce said. The Vikings do, however, play in heavy ice and snow.

Last year, the Vikings played in Walla Walla when it was 6 degrees outside, Bryce said. The players could not wear cleats on the grass because it was like running on top of concrete.

The referees hold a tight ruling to keep the players safe on the field. In lacrosse, the sticks can not come within seven inches of a player’s head, and no one can hit another player’s body.

“There’s the occasional concussion,” Bryce said.

Sixteen teams make up the Northwest Women’s Lacrosse League, but Western only plays nine.

This season, the top two teams in the east and the top two teams in the west will compete at the championship in April at the University of Washington, Bryce said. The championship winner will move on to nationals in May, in Colorado.

The Vikings have been among the top three teams in the league for eight years, Bryce said.

Last year the Vikings made it to the semi-finals against their rival, University of Washington, and lost by one goal in overtime.

That was Western’s first chance to attend nationals in two years.

This year, the Vikings are confident in their skills.

“I plan on going to the championships,” Bryce said.

The women’s lacrosse team will play their first home game at 11 a.m Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Wade King Student Recreation Center’s turf field against Pacific Lutheran University.