Both Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Look to Finish Strong in Final Games

As the St. Lawrence school year is coming to an end, so is the lacrosse season. The St. Lawrence women’s lacrosse team currently supports a 4-8 record, with three more games approaching against Union College, Skidmore College, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Unfortunately, due to one too many losses with in-league play, the Saints will not continue past the regular season.

On April 11, the team traveled to Clarkson for the classic rivalry game and, unfortunately, lost 9-12, making them ineligible for the Liberty League tournament. Although the Saints may not have had the results they expected on paper, the team came together this season and showcased their potential.

The team is going to focus on these next four games in the most positive way they can in order to end their season in an encouraging light. It was frustrating for all of the players that they were not able to finish games how they wanted, but when playing against top nationally ranked teams such as Wesleyan University (No. 12), Suny Geneseo (No. 13) and Ithaca College (No. 16), the Saints only lost by a one or two goal differential, showing how good they really are. Captain Kayla Schmalz ’18 explained how proud of the team she is this year and how much being a captain has meant to her.

“Being a captain for the Saints is such an incredible honor,” said Shchmalz. “I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to lead such an amazing group of girls this season with my co-captains, Greta Massey’18 and Jacqueline Sovie’18. Even though our season has had its ups and downs, there is no doubt in my mind that we will end our season on a high note and finish strong. It is not easy to rally a team after losing games by one or two goals; one or two different bounces, and the game could have gone our way.”

This year, the Saints were fortunate enough to have Hannah Collins, fellow SLU alum, take over the program as head coach. I asked Collins for her thoughts on how the season has been going as well as her expectations for the future of this team.

“The moment I joined this team in August, I knew it was a very special group. Everyone was looking forward to a fresh start and new opportunities, so we really had that steer the direction of our season. Unfortunately, if you only look at records, we would have underachieved; however, what I challenge people to evaluate us on is how we did against six of the top 15 teams in the country versus how we competed in the past,” said Collins “Additionally, I challenge our identity beyond wins and losses by evaluating how we have developed and grown on and off the field, when we could easily have packed up and went home. We are a program that takes what we do seriously, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. We know what we want and what our vision is, and we’ve had more buy-in per player than any other season. Our future is bright, and one that I’m incredibly excited for and proud of.”

Overall, the women’s lacrosse team had an excellent showing this season. “Its been a great learning experience for me and has taught me a lot about myself as well as how to manage and understand such a diverse group of people,” said Schmalz. “I’m looking forward to our last few games, and I am proud to be part of such a hard-working and dedicated group of women!”

On the men’s side of the sport, the men’s lacrosse team has had an incredible showing thus far. Currently holding a 10-3 record, they are seeded into the Liberty League tournament and will be giving everything they have to make the NCAA tournament. Captions Jordon Dow ’18, Evan Doodian ’18, and Sam Sweeney ’18 have held incredible leadership this season and have been a large part of the Saints’ success.

With individual efforts from players all over the board, the team is looking to finish the season positively and continue working together. Currently, transfer student Conor Caffrey’19 is leading the team in points (goals and assists) this season with 50, while Dow and Mikey Donelly’20 follow close behind with 42 and 30 points.

Star defenseman Sam Bohle ’18 has also tallied 31 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers, while Sweeney has acquired 50 ground balls and caused 18 turnovers.

As both seasons come to a close, the Saints remain optimistic Everyone on campus is looking forward to watching the Saints finish strong.