The future looks bright for LSU lax — which may seem odd, considering how few Louisianians know what that means.Lax is a common term used to abbreviate lacrosse, and LSU’s lacrosse club is set to finish a landmark season this weekend. The Tigers boast a 4-5 record and have a shot to finish the season with a winning record if they can beat Tulane tonight and Memphis on Saturday. That only sounds exciting considering where the club ranked a few years ago.”When I started, we went 0-10 — we lost every game,” said Stephen Krobert, history senior. “From where we started, it’s a big improvement.”The transformation has occurred under the watch of LSU coach Nick Joslyn.Joslyn played four years for LSU after arriving from Maryland, where lacrosse powerhouses such as Johns Hopkins, Loyola-Maryland and Maryland-Baltimore County battle for national supremacy.”We’re not going to have the same skill level as other teams, but I don’t want the best guys. I want the best team,” Joslyn said.The sport is an ultra-physical blend of hockey and soccer — two teams of 10 players don padding and netted sticks called crosses and proceed to beat the crud out of each other while trying to score on the other team’s goal.Lacrosse has traditionally been a mainstay along the East Coast, but it has recently gained popularity in Texas and Arizona. Schools across Louisiana — from Shreveport to New Orleans — have picked up lacrosse in recent years, and LSU is reaping the benefits.”When I first got here, we’d be lucky to get 10 guys out here … We had just enough to field a team,” Krobert said. “Now we’re getting kids from schools in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette … People are finding us on Facebook.”Krobert, the team’s starting goalkeeper, is counting on the influx of talent to carry the club. He is one of just three senior starters on a roster of 32.”Next year, we’ll struggle because we’ll have a first-year goalie,” said Stefan Benoit, chemical engineering sophomore. “But if we have the recruiting we had this year, it’s definitely going to be … amazing.”The Tigers recently thumped Rice, 9-2, the team’s first victory against the Owls in Krobert or Joslyn’s tenure.”That was the best team game I’ve been affiliated with in LSU lacrosse, and I’ve played for four years and coached for three,” Joslyn said. “Everyone knew what was going on, and everyone was comfortable … We ran them right into the ground.”The spread of lacrosse across the state doesn’t seem likely to stop. Krobert doubles as a coach at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, and the Tigers currently boast a freshman class of 20 players, most of whom have high school experience.”That’s where we draw from. We’re not going to get kids from the Northeast, but there are plenty of kids in Louisiana,” Krobert said. “They’re going to be coming in full strength soon.”Krobert and his fellow seniors have two more games for LSU. The Tigers play the Green Wave at the Sport and Adventure Complex on River Road tonight at 6:30 p.m., and they host Memphis on Saturday at 6 p.m.”We’re becoming more of a team,” Krobert said. “We’re becoming competitive … and in a couple of years, Texas A&M and Texas will have to look out for LSU.”—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]