Playing Division 1 college lacrosse is a rare opportunity that many players dream of. Having the opportunity to play Division 1 college lacrosse alongside your twin brother however is unheard of.
For sophomore attackers Mike and Joe Madsen, lacrosse has been a huge part of both of their lives since they were very young. The twin brothers, who grew up on Long Island, have been playing the game since they were in elementary school.
“At first, we were actually terrible,” Mike said. “After a while, we just kinda fell in love with it.”
Their love for the game grew as the duo became high school standouts at Locust Valley High School leading their team to a county championship their sophomore year. The duo also lead their team to an undefeated regular season which resulted in a All-American nomination for Mike.
They decided to continue their playing careers at St. John’s, their parents’ alma mater. However, the decision to come to St. John’s had little to do with their parents being alumni.
“We really loved the coaches and the environment,” they said. “[The coaches] made it really feel like they wanted us.”
St. John’s turned out to be a perfect fit for them as they succeeded both on and off the field in their freshman year.
They combined for 29 goals in their freshman season and were also named to the Big East All-Academic team.
Their success on the field is due to a chemistry that has been built throughout their whole lives. They are able to find each other on the field with ease.
“There’s this chemistry that I feel no one else could have,” Joe said. “It’s been built up for 20 years of our lives.”
Despite being undersized for college lacrosse, they are still able to be successful on the field due to their quickness and other skills.
“Being undersized is definitely a challenge but I think there are certain aspects helped us grow,” Joe said. “We’d always have to be faster to compensate.”
However, the Madsen’s are thankful for Head Coach Jason Miller’s offensive gameplan.
“The system that we play in benefits us,” Mike said. “Another team with huge guys probably plays a different system than us, it’s just really based on the system.”
Their freshman season was disappointing as the Red Storm only won one game. This year however is very different as the team is 6-6 and has a chance at a Big East Tournament run with two games left in the regular season.
“A lot of our core returned from last year,” is a reason for the new found success for the Red Storm, according to Mike.
“We have grown as people and as players,” Joe said. “We have a great senior class and they really lead us.”
With the team riding a four game losing streak, they look to turn things around this weekend as Villanova comes to Queens on Saturday.
