Fraser takes unusual path to top of his sport
When Chase Fraser steps on the turf at Audi Field Sunday, he won’t be the only player in the Premier Lacrosse League final hailing from Canada. He won’t be the only one with a background primarily in box lacrosse, or the only one who didn’t envision getting to play on such a large stage as a pro.
Fraser does qualify as the only player on either the Chaos or the Whipsnakes to play at Division II and Division III colleges, and the only one 18 months removed from a job at a Canadian rubber and plastics manufacturer. His career has taken an unorthodox arc, one that included a sensational senior season at Neumann University in Aston. Through it all, the Aldergrove, B.C. native has pursued challenges on the lacrosse field that have led him to the pinnacle of the sport.
The PLL will crown its third champion Sunday (12 noon, NBC10) when the sixthseeded Chaos take on the two-time defending champion Whipsnakes, the No. 5 seed. When Fraser lines up against stars hailing from college powerhouses like Duke, North Carolina and Virginia, he carries the pride of representing a school like Neumann. He hopes to exploit such relative anonymity.
“I know these guys in the league because I’ve watched college lacrosse my whole life growing up, and playing in the NLL, I’ve played against some of these guys,” Fraser said recently. “But it feels like more of an advantage for me because these guys have no idea who I am.”
Like many Canadians, Fraser started in box lacrosse, which prioritizes the development of stick skills in close quarters and requires the fitness and competitiveness to play on both ends of the field. He committed to field lacrosse at age 13, and seeking college opportunities, he boarded at Blue Ridge High School in Virginia. It landed him at the University of the District Columbia, a historically Black school in Washington that launched varsity lacrosse in 2014. Fraser was a star as a founding Firebird, tallying 87 goals and 22 assists in just 33 games over three seasons for the Division II outfit.
Before his senior season, one of his former
coaches at Blue Ridge, Kyle Gardner, took over as the head coach at Neumann. With one of Fraser’s five brothers boarding at Westtown School, Fraser went to nearby Neumann and became an all-conference star. His ability to do everything reflected his verve for the sport: In one season at Neumann in 2017, Fraser led the team in goals (66), points (79), groundballs (115), faceoff percentage (66.9 percent over a team-high 127 draws), and was third in caused turnovers (18). His ridiculous array of stats from the attack position came in just 14 games.
“Basically I just love being a lacrosse player,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what I’m doing; I just want to be able to play the sport and contribute to my team’s success.”
Fraser figured any pro future would lay in the indoor National Lacrosse League, popular with Canadian players. A second-round pick of the Buffalo Bandits, he excelled in a threeseason stint, leading them to a runner-up finish in the NLL. But COVID-19 curtailed the 2020 season, sending Fraser back to Canada to seek non-lacrosse work.
When the 2021 PLL season started, Fraser’s only tie to the league was a recommendation, in the strongest possible terms, from Josh Byrne. One way or another, the B.C. native and former Hofstra attackman told the Chaos coaching staff, they needed to sign Fraser.
While the team heeded Byrne’s advice, it took a while for Fraser to integrate, through injuries and adjustments in the Chaos lineup. But he’s been at the heart of the team’s lateseason surge. Despite playing just six of 11 games, he’s tied for fourth in goals (12) and points (13). He provided a goal and an assist in the fourth quarter of a 15-9 win over Atlas in the quarterfinals at Subaru Park two weeks ago, stemming the tide of a would-be comeback.
Now he has the Chaos one win away from a championship. His desire to lift the trophy is of a piece with the passion that’s driven his personal quest to climb the lacrosse ladder, even if it started from places that rarely generate such pro talent.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to be the best; the best version of myself,” Fraser said. “So it was always a goal just to get to the top and be able to be the best at something in a way or one of the best. It’s an unreal feeling and something I’ve been working for and at my entire life.”