By Taylor Nigrelli
Staff Writer
‘New’ and ‘change’ seem to be buzzwords among the lacrosse team for the 2012 season. The players refer to a new coach, a change in attitude, a new style of play and hopefully a change of place in the standings.
The Bonnies will travel to Detroit Mercy Sunday, March 11 at 1 p.m for their second game of the season.
Last year, after finishing 2-5 in conference, the Bonnies missed the Atlantic 10 Championship for the third year in a row. However, some change is expected this year, with new coach Ryan Lynn. Although this is his first year as a head coach in the college ranks, the Bonnies believe he can lead them to the A-10 playoffs, which would be a new experience for seniors like Elizabeth Demara.
“Although we haven’t been putting a lot of emphasis in wins and losses, we really want to make it to A-10s,” Demara said. “We haven’t made it the last three years, so we’re not taking anything lightly this year, especially us seniors.”
Lynn has only been coach since September, but his players say he’s already starting to change the culture of St. Bonaventure lacrosse. “He has already done so much for us,” sophomore Cara Callahan said. “He is prepared every day to push us as hard as we can and he is determined to make us better. Every practice is beneficial, and we don’t move on until we accomplish what we are supposed to.”
Demara said the team’s focus changed with Lynn.
“Instead of being a team trying to go cage and scoring, we are much more patient and are letting plays happen,” she said. “His emphasis on attack has been on possession from day one, and you can see it coming through in practice.”
But a new system isn’t all this year’s Bonnies bring to the table. They also bring back sophomore star midfielder Callahan, who led the Bonnies with 38 goals last year. Demara will return after missing most of last year with an injury and senior Emily Kane returns after finishing fourth on the team with 19 last year.
Despite accomplishing the rare feat of leading the team in goals as a freshman, Callahan doesn’t take all the credit and is still looking to improve.
“I worked hard every day in practice and didn’t give up,” Callahan said. “I also wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help from my teammates. I plan on continuing to work hard and get better on all different areas of the game.”
The Bonnies started the season off with a 15-11 win at Niagara March 7. Senior Danielle Drabin led the team with four goals. The players believe the changes they’ve made as a team along with their new attitude will allow them to win like this more often.
“We all are pushing to get to the playoffs, ” Callahan said. “We are a whole different team this year, and I’m so excited to finally be able to prove that to other teams and surprise them. I believe we’re starting to turn the corner and make a name for Bona’s lacrosse.”
nigreltn11@bonaventure.edu
