Laker D-Man giving to the game

This Fan's Favourite Unofficial Burnaby Lakers Giving to the Game player of the year has a passion for growing the sport of lacrosse.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="400"] Burnaby Lakers defender Chris O'Dougherty co-founded CitySideLax to grow and develop lacrosse in the Pacific Northwest. Garrett James photo[/caption]

Chris O' Dougherty has played at the top of the sport in high school, university and as a pro, in the both field and indoor game, since first picking up a lacrosse stick as a pre-teen in his home state of New Jersey.

The third-year Laker is a co-founder of CitySideLax, a Washington State organization dedicated to the growth and development of lacrosse in the Pacific Northwest, and earlier this year was named for induction as an athlete into the Seton Hall Preparatory School Hall of Fame next month.

O'Dougherty scored his only goal of the 2016 Western Lacrosse Association season for Burnaby in a game seven loss to Victoria in the playoffs.

In seven WLA seasons, the defensive-minded O'Dougherty has scored six goals and 18 assists.

As a high school senior and two-time team captain, O'Dougherty earned first team all-state honours, was a high school All-American and team MVP at Seton Hall, which went to two Group IV finals and won a championship title under his leadership.

O'Dougherty remained in-state and played in all but one game in a five-year career as a four-year starter at Rutgers University, guiding the NCAA Division I field lacrosse program as it's captain. He was a three-time All-ECAC conference all-star and the Scarlet Knights' MVP in 2008.

The 6-0 defender played six seasons in the MLL pro league, including a championship season with the Denver Outlaws in 2014.

O'Dougherty has also played eight years in the NLL to date, all with the Stealth organization, including a Championship Cup title with Washington in 2010.

In his indoor pro career, O'Dougherty has scored four goals, 20 assists and scooped up 236 loose balls for the Stealth in league and playoffs. He also shared a bronze medal with Team USA at the world indoor championships last year. 

But, O'Dougherty has also had a huge impact on the game as a successful high school field lacrosse coach.

He helped his hometown high school win a state championship in New Jersey in 2009 and earned a second state title in Washington a year later at Bellevue High School, where he was later named assistant coach of the year in 2012.

In 2013, O'Dougherty also won coach of the year honours at 4A Eastlake High School, where he currently acts as the program's director and head coach.