Hamline Women’s Lacrosse team heads on the road yet again, this time before the official season even starts. The team is heading to Spain and Portugal for nine days to play lacrosse, sight see and maybe even hit the beach to relax after all their off-season work.

The team lifts in the weight room and runs agility with Coach Hartman in addition to a few weeks of team practices which are then followed by captain’s practices before the real season kicks in a while later in the spring.

Senior Alycia Monserrate Novotny, otherwise known as ‘Champ’ by her teammates, said, “I’m really looking forward to just exploring a brand-new place with my teammates. We’re going to museums, going on tours, playing lacrosse, and we even get to go to the beach. It seemed like a lot of money at first but it was a really good deal considering everything that was in the package. We had the opportunity to fundraiser through selling candles and raffle tickets which really helped offset the cost.”

The team has been fundraising since summer, doing all sorts of daily tasks in order to fund their trip — anything from raking leaves to selling candles.

Senior and Captain Lexus Tatge piggybacked off her teammate Novotny in conversation, “I have been able to travel through Europe before outside of athletics and it got to be really, really expensive with my flight being $1800 alone. This trip is a once-in-a-lifetime experience because of all that is encompassed in this trip. It’s a great way to start off a fourth and, sadly, final year of lacrosse and I am so excited to spend it with my fellow roommates, teammates and best friends.”

The team participated in ‘Power of One Day’ to help with fundraising and reached 110 percent of their final 1,400 dollar goal before the 24-hour time frame had run out.

With hopes of another successful season coming up after two NCAA appearances in a row, the team looks forward to practicing and celebrating in Europe this January.