By Christine Walsh, Contributing Writer
As the St. Bonaventure women’s lacrosse team prepares for its season opener at Lehigh University on Feb. 10, players reflect back on the team’s improvements during the fall season.
“The fall season went very well for our program,” said sophomore midfielder Destinee Johnson. “We had 12 new members on the team, and it was very important that we built chemistry and learned how to work well together before entering our spring season. We had some young players step into big roles and perform very well.”
Third-year head coach Chelsea Rosiek said this season, women’s lacrosse will adapt to new rules during play.
“Our game has changed to free movement like in soccer,” said Rosiek. “During every whistle on any major or minor foul, people can head downfield and don’t have to stay on the whistle. All Division I schools had this rule change, so it was good to get to compete against them in the fall and become acclimated to the role changes.”
In terms of improvement Rosiek mentioned the change she has seen in terms of off-season efforts to stay in shape and stay conditioned over the break.
“That will help during the season so we’re not playing catch up,” said Rosiek.
Since the fall season ended, Johnson said the athletes have been working hard to get in shape for the spring season.
“Our offseason consisted of a lot of conditioning, lifting and stick work,” said Johnson. “Refining our skills and preparing our bodies to be the best they possibly can be was very important to us, and we realize this was not something we can achieve in a matter of a week, but that it would take time.”
Sophomore defender Rachel Miller said the offseason is the time for everyone to work on their individual goals.
“Over the winter break, we have mind checks,” Miller said. “This is where everyone has a certain day to send a motivational message to the team. The mind checks are really nice to read everyday to keep us connected as a team and to remind us to work as hard as we can.”
Johnson highlighted the team’s focus on consistency, as well.
“Last season we had some amazing moments, and this year we have really been focusing on making those moments a regular occurrence,” said Johnson. “We never let our effort, intensity or dedication to this program falter, and that allows us to improve every practice and make us an overall better program.”
The team has a total of 10 freshmen added to the roster.
“It’s always hard to come into a new program, establish yourself and make a statement as a player, but I think a good amount of them have done just that, and I’m excited to see how they do during season,” said Miller.
“The freshmen have stepped up and showed some promising leadership qualities on and off the field,” said Johnson. “Aside from being a great group of people, they are talented lacrosse players and really bring our entire program to a whole new level.”
The team finished with a record of 4-13 last year, but with the hard work and effort put in during the offseason, Rosiek has bigger goals.
“The goal is to go at least 7-10 this season and beat four schools in the A10,” said Rosiek. “We have a lot of young players, which I’m excited about, but we also need to find the rhythm in preparing for game day ritual and operating with more confidence in their abilities.”
She advised them to try to rise above the freshman unsureness of their abilities. Rather than the physical quirks that needed to be fixed, Miller mentioned the psychological side of the sport.
“We had so many games last year that we could’ve won, but often times the mental aspect of the game is lacking,” said Miller. “I think this is something that is very fixable. We have the skills and numbers we need to have a winning season this year, all we need on top of that is the belief that it’s possible.”
Miller added that junior defender Kathryn Yoder is poised for a breakout season.
“I played alongside Kathryn on defense my whole freshman season and she was such a big help to me when it came to getting used to Division I play,” Miller said. “Now that she’s a captain, I can’t wait to see her step up even more and become a backbone for our team.”
Senior goalkeeper Morgan Conroy was drafted by the Long Island Sound in the Women’s Lacrosse League college draft this past November.
“This is a huge recognition for how talented she is in the cage and how she’s one of the nation’s top goalkeepers,” said Rosiek.
Rosiek also mentioned she is excited for fifth-year senior redshirt attacker, Gabby Bradley.
“I think she’s going to have a phenomenal year and really turned it on second half of the season this past year,” said Rosiek.
Johnson highlighted junior Rylee Arnold’s efforts on the field.
“Arnold is going to be a major part of our offense,” Rosiek said. “She’s a great leader, talented attacker and has been doing a great job so far taking care of the ball, slowing down and controlling the offensive end of the game.”
