By Alana Pelosi
While in the ever-competitive land of college sports second chances come seldom, the women’s lacrosse team is getting theirs as they get ready for CAA conference play.
Despite suffering a heartbreaker of a loss Tuesday against no. 13 Notre Dame, the team has no intentions of letting it get in there way. The 14-13 loss drops the Pride to a lackluster 3-5 record, but if it has Coach Abby Morgan and her team worried, they show no signs of it. Rather than waste time hanging their heads, the squad plans to journey down that yellow brick road which will hopefully lead them back CAA glory.
On Sunday, that journey begins as the Pride travels to Pennsylvania to take on conference opponent, Drexel, in their opening game of conference play. While the Pride was faced with fierce play against nation powerhouses Syracuse and Northwestern in the earlier half of the season, the CAA’s bring a whole new pressure. As Coach Morgan puts it, “Every team looks at it as a season with in a season, and every game is a constant battle.”
Against Drexel, a team Morgan describes as “scrappy and aggressive,” the team will be challenged by Long Island native Lauren LaBella, who Morgan calls “a fantastic goalie with great reaction time.”
In preparation for the looming play, Morgan says that she is not looking to make any strategic plays, rather it is up to the players to bring a more positive and confident attitude. The Pride will continue to look to Corrine Gandolfi, Lauren Whitcomb and Stephanie Rice to provide them with the offensive moxie that they have brought so far this season, as well as a solid defensive front led by junior Alysse Ruszkowski. Another player who is expected to make an impact in the CAA is freshman Katie Hertsch. Hertsch, who this past week had the honor of being named CAA rookie of the week, continues her dominance up and down the field as she leads the team in caused turnovers at 14 and second in collecting groundballs only to goalie, Maisie Osteen.
That is not to say things have been going smoothly, either. After falling to Cornell earlier this month, the Pride’s record slipped to 2-3. Then, with a narrow victory at home the team was back to .500.
That comfort did not last for long when the faced a less-than-stellar Rutgers squad four days later on March 19 and lost, 6-9. Yesterday’s loss, however, was the game to watch.
A tight game from the beginning, Hofstra initially started things off with an early 3-0 lead, partly due to the impressive offensive play of junior midfielder Lauren Whitcomb. While Whitcomb finished the game with 4 goals and an assist and offense had spark under them for the entire back and forth match up, ultimately it was draw control and turnovers in the midfield that cost them the win. No one is ever happy walking away with a loss, but Coach Morgan does not feel the team left empty handed. “I really feel like yesterday’s game was a turning point for us,” she said, “I was more proud with the way our players continued to fight even after mistakes.”
The fighting attitude that Morgan expressed is exactly what the team needs to be a contender and defend their title. With such an attitude, they very well have a chance.