St. Luke's Girls Varsity Lacrosse: Season Preview

The St. Luke’s Girls Varsity Lacrosse team is looking to build on a solid 2016-2017 season and it will do so under new Head Coach Caitlin Copelan.

Copelan comes to St. Luke’s with a wealth of experience as both a player and coach. Born and raised in Wilton, Copelan attended The University of North Carolina where she was part of a Tar Heels squad that won a National Championship. As a coach, she spent a number of years at Greenwich High School and is the founder and director of Sound Lacrosse, one of the premier lax programs in Connecticut.

She is impressed with what she has seen at St. Luke’s during her first preseason: “The girls are working extremely hard and have been very receptive to the new concepts we have been introducing. The Florida trip was super beneficial as it has really allowed me to get to know the girls and we were able to implement a number of our new drills.”

Copelan inherits a program that went 8-8 last year but is focused on taking the Storm to another level. “I’m looking to improve the overall competitiveness and accountability within the program,” she said: “We have been focussing on the little things, the things that we can control, and making sure we bring a whole new level of intensity to everything we do.”

The team will be captained by seniors Grace Kuehner, Sarah Powless and Kate Vaske and Copelan is impressed with their leadership qualities: “They have been awesome both on and off the field. We have asked them to take ownership and initiative in terms of the communication between the coaches and the players. We want them to create a family-type atmosphere within the group and hold everyone accountable.”

GVL has a good core of players returning from last year’s squad and the Head Coach is hoping their experience will push the team forward: “Olivia Schwartz [‘19] will be a key player for us on the draw but is also a huge threat offensively. India Otero [‘19] and Ryan Weil [‘21] have shown very good intensity and aggressiveness. We need everyone to be dynamic and be able to play multiple positions. Phoebe Kurth [‘20] will be strong for us, Kirsten Pastore [‘20] has been excellent defensively and Quinn Gregorich [‘20] will be key for us in goal.”

In terms of what we can expect to see this season, Copelan concluded: “I’m huge on taking care of the things that you can control like passing, catching, running plays correctly, communication and effort. I love hustle plays and intensity. My goal is to reinvigorate some confidence in the girls and the program and make sure they know they are capable of a successful year and putting the program back on the map.”

St. Luke’s Girls Varsity Lacrosse had its home opener on Saturday, April 7 against Hopkins School where they suffered a narrow 10-13 loss. They travel to The Harvey School on Monday, April 9 for a 4:30pm game.

St. Luke's is a secular private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5-12. St. Luke's mission is an exceptional education that inspires a deep love of learning, a strong moral compass, the commitment to serve, and the confidence to lead. St. Luke's Center for Leadership advances our mission by helping students develop exceptional leadership ability. A kind, inclusive community awaits you at St. Luke's.