Lacrosse, Fifth Championship Win for the Pellicani
Five in a row. That's the number of championship wins the Bocconi University lacrosse team has secured, undefeated for the past five seasons. The sport is one of the most truly American, since it was invented by Native Americans in the 15th century, in a more basic form. It has since evolved and been codified into the sport it is today, and is now very widespread in schools and at the professional level in the US and Canada.
Five championships in a row is testimony of a domino effect that is destined to last, explains Roberto Antonioli, midfielder and student in his third year of BIEM: "At Bocconi, we have created a group that is unique in a sense. People are curious about this new sport and our team that's so successful. That's why every year new students come who are interested in trying out. We have about 30 members, 16-17 of whom are always at practices. This allows us to train and always stay competitive."
The national championship has 5 teams competing, for a total of 8 games. The Pellicani won the trophy two days in advance, after their sixth consecutive win, beating Rome on Sunday 8 May at the Savorelli Sports Center, 16-5. "It doesn't seem like a lot of games, but lacrosse is a very physical sport, with lots of contact, and the better the teams, the higher the level of contact. It's also a sport that places a lot of value on the concept of the team, especially in defense," continues Roberto Antonioli. "In that way, it's a little bit like basketball, where one person's mistake requires the other players to make adjustments. This is also what makes it interesting."
Interest in Italy seems to be increasing and new teams are being created all over the place. Often, however, the smaller version of the sport is played, with 7-player tournaments, while the traditional version has 10 players. "The reason is that there still aren't many players in Italy. It's a sport that requires frequent substitutions and lots of rotations." After the last two games in the championship and the summer break, the Pellicani will start thinking about the Ken Galluccio Cup. It's a kind of Champions League scheduled for September in Belgium, in Ghent, with the top 12 teams on the Continent. "The level is very high there, the Northern European teams in particular are very strong. The have lots of players and, even more important, a stable base, and they're clubs, not university classmates like us. Last year, we placed seventh, but we were very close to making the final four. This year, our goal is to do even better."