By Jonathan Sawyer
Sports Assignment Editor
The St. Bonaventure women’s lacrosse team hired Allison Stathius to be the assistant coach. Stathius was hired in the beginning of February after a week into pre-season.
Aside from coaching club lacrosse, this is her first Division I coaching job. Stathius was a four-year starter at Division I Monmouth University and earned First and Second team honors in the North East Conference (NEC) and Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC), academic all-MAC team, National Athletic Honor Society and was nominated for Woman of the Year.
With such experience, she believes she’s ready to teach these young women.
“Realizing the commitment level of it has been helpful,” Stathius said. “Trying to hold the girls more accountable, to playing at that high level and knowing what it takes to get the job done and the end goal for the season would be to win.”
Stathius is joining the team in the middle of pre-season and believes it has its ups and downs.
“Some aspects are tough. It’s hard because I haven’t seen the girls play, and I don’t know how or where they play or who works well together,” Stathius said. “But I am picking up on it, and the more we do at practice and the different drills, I am able to see the strengths and weaknesses.”
Freshman mid-fielder/attacker Molly Driscoll believes that even though it’s tough coming in the middle of the season, Stathius has adjusted well.
“Coming at such a crucial time may seem awkward, but the team and our coaching staff has adjusted so well. Ally was ready to go right off the bat and is really on top of things,” Driscoll said.
While at Monmouth, she was a defensive mid-fielder, so she hopes to help out the team defensively.
“I am focusing a lot on the defense,” Stathius said. “I am able to see a lot more now that we have implemented these defenses and building the unit.”
Head Coach Chelsea Rosiek said it was an easy decision hiring Stathius to the team.
“If you take a look at her resume, you see all the awards and accolades that she has gotten, not only in the terms of athletics but in academics as well,” Rosiek said. “I think having someone on staff that emulates the rules and the culture of the program is important, so when we are asking them to be a great student, to work hard on the field, she has done all those things.”
Junior attacker Rachel Perla has nothing but positivity about the hiring of Stathius.
“She already has focused on building relationships with her players which is huge,” Perla said. “She is also very knowledgeable on both ends of the field, which makes her relatable to everyone. Her positive attitude is contagious, which uplifts the entire team.”
Going off Perla, Driscoll is certain Stathius will help the Bonnies succeed.
“She has great input and a really unique perspective as to what we need to improve on. She is there for us on and off the field, which is crucial to the success of our program,” Driscoll said.
Stathius’ goals for the season are plain and simple– to win.
“I’d like to see the team go .500 for the season. I feel like that is possible with our schedule and what I am seeing now,” Stathius said. “Just learning as much as I can and being able to take each day and make it better than the last.”
The Bonnies first game will be on Saturday, Feb. 20, where they will head on the road to Delaware State to take on the Hornets. The season opening draw will be at 10 a.m.
sawyerjp15@bonaventure.edu
