Personaly, if it was possible to open up anymore and blur out the net, i'd do that.
I agree, I find the netting to be distracting from the subject
7d w/ BG-E7, 24-70 f2.8L, 70-200 f2.8L IS II
I'll also agree that the net behind him is distracting. However, I'm unsure if goaltender in Lacrosse ever gets far enough away from the net to cause the background (net) to blur sufficiently (with the use of a wider aperture) for good separation.
True, it may be impossible to get a suitable blur as is, perhaps instead of head on try maybe 30 degrees to either side, it'll move the net from behind him and add a little more depth to the image
7d w/ BG-E7, 24-70 f2.8L, 70-200 f2.8L IS II
I think twistedphrame's got the right idea....include the net as a contextual element but don't have it directly behind the subject. A shallow depth-of-field would work well then. Plus, that angle should be easy to get as you wouldn't be in the way of the play...
this was just before the game warming up so I wasn't exactly in the way, I suppose my 50 f/1.4 might blur the net with a ND filter if needed. I'll try that next time.