Women’s lacrosse looks to bounce back

The Seton Hill University women’s lacrosse team huddles before the start of a game. The team currently has a record of 2-8. Photo by D.Clark/Setonian.

There is no doubt that the women’s lacrosse team has been tested this season by every team they have played. As of April 3, the team has a record of 2-8, but the best thing about competition and sports is any team can turn it around and work for playoff contention. That is exactly what the women plan to do for the rest of the season.

For their spring break trip from March 3-9 down to Florida, the team stayed in an extravagant house in Kissimmee and played some of the nation’s best competition. They held their own against the No. 1 team in the nation, Florida Southern, but fell short. They also fell short to Tampa and Rollins College, who are also nationally ranked teams.

The competition in Florida should prepare them to compete against the teams in the PSAC. After the Florida trip, the women were topped again by a familiar face coaching East Stroudsburg University as a graduate assistant. Charlotte Cunningham was a 2017 graduate of Seton Hill University and an integral part of the women’s lacrosse team for four years.

“Getting the W on my old turf while representing a different team was bittersweet,” Cunningham said. “I’m a proud alumna, but coaching has been an even more rewarding experience. It was nice to get a warm welcome back on the Hill, but at the end of the day I’m always chasing that win.”

Junior midfielder Katelyn Cressman prepares to make a play during a home game this season. Cressman has the second-most points on the team with 19 points, as of April 3. Photo by D.Clark/Setonian.

The women bounced back from their short skid in the beginning of the season with a convincing 11-4 win over Edinboro University on March 20. Throughout the early stages of the year, the team has suffered some key injuries from some high competitors on the team. Sophomore attacker Ashley Ingram, who started the majority of the games in the early year, went down with a knee injury within the last few weeks. Captain Keagan Pontious was another vital asset of the team who went down with a knee injury.

However, young talent is stepping up, such as freshman Taylor Fox-Trudel and sophomore Olivia Caragein with 10 and nine points on the season, respectively. Juniors Mackenzie Kilduff and Katelyn Cressman are leading the team in points with 23 and 19 points respectively.

The team is looking to bounce back from their early season performance with a string of PSAC games in the future, including the opportunity to support the Griffins with four more home games.

Published By: Stephen Dumnich

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *