Graphic by Bell Jackson By Xander Swain, Copy editor
After only his seventh game starting at the University of Montevallo, freshman Alex Egorshin has already set the University of Montevallo men’s lacrosse record for most saves in a game with 28 saves against the University of Indianapolis.
His performance against the number six team in Division II lacrosse won him the title of Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 27. Despite Egorshin’s 28 saves, the Falcons fell short and lost 12-4.
However, Egorshin came back the following week and led the men’s team to a three-win streak against Davenport University with 11 saves and eight goals against, Catawba College with 23 saves and eight goals against and Lees-McRae College with five saves and just one goal against.
After leading the team against Catawba College and Davenport University, Egorshin was also announced to be the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.
Egorshin, a freshman, is from Hoover, Alabama and has been playing lacrosse since he was 5 years old. He started playing lacrosse because of his older brother, who wasn’t allowed to play football. Their mom however, allowed him to play lacrosse, and all three of the Egorshin brothers got into the sport.
When asked how lacrosse has shaped him so far, Egorshin said, “I guess lacrosse is just kind of a part of my personality now. It’s just something I’ve always done. And I knew in high school, I didn’t want to be done playing lacrosse, because I don’t know what I’d be doing if I wasn’t playing.”
He continued, “But it’s definitely helped me build relationships with people. It’s been a good resource, like to get away from everything else in life, you know?”
Originally however, Egorshin was not planning on attending Montevallo. He had his sights set on Division I lacrosse, but after meeting Montevallo Head Coach Jason Lange, he fell in love with Montevallo.
“I really liked Coach Lange, just talking to him. He’s awesome and he asked me to come on a visit and I loved it here,” said Egorshin.
When Egorshin came to the team though, he was not expecting to start by the second game of the season.
Talking about Kyle Little, the recently graduated men’s lacrosse star, Egorshin said, “I knew they were losing a fifth-year insane goalie, so I knew it’d be a good opportunity to try and get the spot. I didn’t think I would actually get the spot, but I ended up getting it.”
Talking about the responsibility of being a starting goalie he said, “As far as a responsibility, it honestly hasn’t been that much because the defense has really just helped me out. A lot of the older guys have really helped me to understand everything. We’re always working as one big unit.”
Being with the team, he says, “It’s just like you’re with a group of people, you know, you feel like you’ve known forever, even though I just got here. It’s just awesome being with this big group of guys all the time.”
Coming back from being on the road and heading into conference games by the end of the month, Egorshin said, “I’m excited. I definitely think our whole team’s ready. We’ve played some really tough opponents and it’s really prepared us well, and I think we’ll be ready for conference.”
Looking forward to the future of the season, Egorshin is most excited to play against the University of Alabama in Huntsville. “They’re our biggest rival,” he said.
Egorshin is also hoping to help the team win their third conference championship since joining the Peach Belt Conference. He said, “We had that ring ceremony at the beginning of the year. It was just really cool to see all these guys. I’ve never won a championship in high school, so it’d be really cool to get a ring.”
Xander Swain is the copy editor for The Alabamian. He is majoring in political science, environmental studies, and sociology and wants to eventually obtain a Ph.D. in sociology. He enjoys cooking for his friends, listening to music and taking long walks on the beach.
