Homecoming Holds Special Significance for Duquesne Alum

Tristen Chang’s Duquesne lacrosse teammates always joked with her when they asked when she was going to quit playing, but as it turns out, that answer is later than anyone could have expected.

There is an adage of like father, like daughter, something that both Chang and her father Ernest got to experience in February.

Tristen , who completed her last season with the Duquesne lacrosse program earlier this year found out after a tryout that she will represent the Jamaican Senior Women’s Lacrosse Team at this year’s Pan-American Women’s Lacrosse Championships which start on Thursday all in an effort to earn a berth in the 2026 Women’s World Lacrosse Championship.

Ernest’s growing up in Kingston made it possible for Chang to go down the road to represent Jamaica.

‘I actually got my citizenship two days ago, so it’s moving along,” Chang exclusively told PSN in a March 2022 interview. “There’s a PALA which is worlds, so a lot of countries have teams. I didn’t know that Jamaica had a team for a while, and I did some research and thought ‘how do I try out for this?’ I wasn’t sure since I was in college and traveling would be hard. The tournaments were in the summer, so they do it every two years with qualifiers and worlds. I reached out to the coach and said she that there were tryouts in DC and I was able to drive one weekend, (head coach) Tracy (Coyne) let me miss a day. We had tryouts and three weeks later they said I made the team.”

The tryout itself was in Washington D.C. and many who were on the previous team a couple of years ago did not have to be on site to earn their spot. With positions also available for the under-20 and senior teams, Chang estimated she was one of 30-40 people there.

By all means there were plenty of nerves present, but one thing which certainly assisted Chang was her mother Denine’s presence on the trip. Denine played college lacrosse at Temple.

No one Chang knew he ever tried out for a national team, but while she did not know what to expect, Coyne used to coach Team Canada, so she could provide some valuable insights.

While there, Chang was pleased by how kind everyone was and highlighted a connection with a coach who is with Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, which is where she is from.

The tryouts were in the beginning of spring, something certainly advantageous for Chang seeing as she was about to start her season and had plenty of lifting, conditioning and practice on her side.

That connection reminded Chang of just how far she has come, especially given that lacrosse is not that big of a sport in Florida.

“There was a men’s team, and my brother started playing, he’s a few years older than me,” reminisced Chang. “They opened a women’s league, and my mom said I should try it. The only sport I had done was gymnastics, full switch to field and ball sport, I wasn’t sure how it would be. I started in third grade, and I’ve been playing ever since. I dropped gymnastics and I’m doing this as long as I can. My family was a lacrosse family.”

To Chang, the lacrosse community is a very tight knit one, first playing for Youngstown State before coming to Duquesne. Her experience from a lacrosse aspect has been self-described as a unique one and this was evidenced by a matchup earlier this past season against La Salle when she played against one of her former teammates.

At Youngstown State, Chang was part of a new program which was that way for everyone and then she ended her collegiate career with Coyne, an experienced and nationally recognized coach.

When Chang got the good news, that she had made the team, she texted her dad, who shared with the family. With PALA qualifiers in Auburndale, it is a less than two-hour drive from home, so this tournament carries extra meaning being a reunion with her family. Even some teammates and past coaches talked about making the trip, bringing everything full circle.

As the first draw control draws ever closer, Chang thought about the third grader who was introduced to the sport and believes she did herself quite proud.

“Third grade Tristen probably would not have believed I would be playing for Team Jamaica,” she closed. “Where I’m from, lacrosse is so small, I don’t even know anyone who played it in college. When I was getting recruited, I had no idea what was going on, so every year has been so different and exciting. She would be so excited if I told her. She would say, ‘you’re in Youngstown? Pittsburgh?’ I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

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