City College and UCSB have joined together to help foster young women interested in playing lacrosse.

The Vaqueros women’s lacrosse team works as a club sport that trains with UCSB’s recreational lacrosse team, and is overseen by Ashley Antoon-Algieri, former UCSB graduate and lacrosse player.

“It’s complicated in the way it all came together, but the result is that there is a place for everyone to play lacrosse,” said Paul Ramsey, head coach of the UCSB women’s lacrosse team.

The City College team is the result of a complex relationship between the City College Office of Student Life, and UCSB.

Ramsey said the primary goal of the team is to allow lacrosse athletes who may have not gotten into the four-year college of their choice, but are still eager to keep their skills developing.

“Angela Warren, the head of the transfer academy is our advisor,” said Ramsey. “The girls really do have a connection to a four-year avenue as long as they go and use her resources.”

But last season, the dynamic of the team changed when their coach, Lindsay Feig, left the team.

“She apparently accepted a position in Feb. that required her to leave mid season,” Ramsey said. “She didn’t tell us, and then just left.”

The team didn’t find out about her absence until she no-showed for a game.

“That’s why I think we’re having such an issue with recruiting,” said Antoon-Algieri. “All of the people who played last year don’t really want to come back to a team if they don’t think the coach is going to be around.”

This year’s team is primarily beginners, forcing the focus to shift from competitive, to a learning experience.

Julie Quistgaard, an 18-year-old from Denmark, first learned about lacrosse when watching TV. “The lacrosse club came and promoted themselves, my friend and I decided we wanted to try it out,” she said.

The Vaqueros currently have only nine girls on the team, with 13 as potential players.

Former soccer player Taylor Blechel, 19, is also a first time lacrosse player.

“I wanted to get involved in something, and it seemed like a really interesting sport to learn,” Blechel said.

Antoon-Algieri has experience teaching lacrosse and is eager to pass on knowledge to any woman interested in joining the club team.

Sarah Shada is one of the teams few experienced players. The 18-year-old said she enjoys “taking new players under her wing”, a shift that “just happens naturally” by the more experienced players.

The Vaqueros hope to have enough players for their first tournament, The Fall Brawl, Oct. 23 at UCSB. The tournament includes teams from all over the country, some coming from as far as Florida, Ohio, and Texas.