Zachary "Zach" Higgins (born December 30, 1990) is a Canadian professional

box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in the 1930s in Canada, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's officia ...

goaltender for the

Ottawa Black Bears The Ottawa Black Bears are a Canadian professional box lacrosse team based in the Ottawa that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team plays its home games at Canadian Tire Centre, which is also the home arena of the Ottawa Sen ...

of the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

and the

Brooklin Redmen The Brooklin Lacrosse Club is a box lacrosse team from Brooklin, Ontario. Brooklin plays in the Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) league (formerly known as Senior "A"). The MSL, and its counterpart, the Western Lacrosse Association, represent the highe ...

Major Series Lacrosse Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) is a Senior A box lacrosse league with 7 teams based in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. The league championship team each year goes on to play against the champions of the Western Lac ...

. Hailing from

Courtice, Ontario Courtice () is a community in Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto, within the Municipality of Clarington. Adjacent to Oshawa, it is west of Bowmanville, which is also part of Clarington. Courtice Road (Durham Road 34) connects with Highway ...

, Higgins began his Canadian amateur career with the Jr. B

Clarington Green Gaels The Green Gaels are a Junior "B" box lacrosse team based in Clarington, Ontario, Canada, that plays out of the Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The Gaels play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League. History The ...

, where he won his league's Goaltender of the Year Award in 2007 and 2008. He moved up to the Jr. A

Whitby Warriors The Whitby Warriors are a Junior "A" box lacrosse team from Whitby, Ontario, Canada. The Warriors play in the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League. History The Whitby Jr Lacrosse Franchise began in 1969 as the Whitby B & R Transporters. The Transporters ...

, where he won a

Minto Cup The Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion junior men's box lacrosse team of Canada. The 2023 competition is in Edmonton, Alberta, from August 20–27. It was donated in 1901 by the Governor General of Canada, Governor General, Gilbert Jo ...

as the team's starter in 2011. He made his MSL debut with the Redmen in 2012. Higgins attended

Courtice Secondary School Courtice Secondary School is a public high school in the community of Courtice in Clarington, Ontario, Canada, at the corner of Nash and Courtice Roads. History It was built in the late 1950s and opened in September 1960. The school has just unde ...

, and went on to play lacrosse at

Davenport University Davenport University is a private university with campuses throughout Michigan and online. It was founded in 1866 by Conrad Swensburg and currently offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees; diplomas; and post-grad certification prog ...

, where he was a two-time first team all- CCLA award winner. Undrafted in the NLL, Higgins was signed by the

Minnesota Swarm The Minnesota Swarm was a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League who played at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota from 2004 until 2015. The team's previous owners (Minnesota Sports & Entertainment) who also own the NHL's ...

in 2012, and spent most of the 2013 season with the

Durham TurfDogs Durham TurfDogs were a Canadian professional indoor lacrosse team that played in the Canadian Lacrosse League. The TurfDogs, along with the Oshawa Machine, played out of the GM Centre in Oshawa, Ontario. History The TurfDogs played their first ...

, while remaining on Minnesota's practice squad. Although he was signed to the club's active roster on March 12, 2012, Higgins did not see any playing time. He was signed to a three-year contract extension after the season, made his first NLL appearance against the

Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) The Philadelphia Wings were a member of ...

on January 18, 2014, and made his first start on February 1, 2014, against the

Colorado Mammoth The Colorado Mammoth are an American professional box lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team has played its home games at Ball Arena since the 2003 season. They are owned by Stan ...

. Heading into the

2023 NLL season The 2023 National Lacrosse League season, formally known as the 2022–2023 season, was the 36th in the history of the NLL. The season began on December 2, 2022, and ended with the NLL final on June 3, 2023. This was the inaugural season for the e ...

, ''

Inside Lacrosse Inside Lacrosse is a lacrosse media entity and ESPN affiliate. It includes many parts including a news website, an 11 times annual magazine, online video streaming, internet forums and an ESPN television show. The company is currently headquar ...

'' named Higgins the #4 best goalie in the NLL.

References

External links

NLL stats at pointstreak.com

Minnesota Swarm bio
Living people 1990 births Sportspeople from Clarington Lacrosse people from Ontario Davenport University alumni Minnesota Swarm players Georgia Swarm players Buffalo Bandits players Calgary Roughnecks players Philadelphia Wings players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen {{Canada-lacrosse-bio-stub