Western Girls Lacrosse Rebuilding This Season

Saying she has a lot of girls who want to come out and play—and who are very coachable—Western girls lacrosse coach Mary Hain nevertheless realizes this year’s team may not attain the success of last year’s squad that went to the regional playoffs.

“The entire group has a lot of work to do,” Hain said. “They have a long way to go.”

Yet Hain is impressed with the nearly 50 girls who tried out for the Doves.

“I’m excited about that. I guess word got out and there were juniors and seniors out there that did not come out last year, so that was exciting,” she said.

“I have some very good athletes who play basketball, and basketball mirrors lacrosse, so they already know how to box out or how to anticipate the ball side to side and stay between their player and the goal,” she said.

And with that in mind, the coach has used the early practice sessions to stress lacrosse fundamentals—throwing, catching, picking up ground balls—the basics.

“The ball is going to be on the ground more than anything else with this group,” Hain said. “So I really want them to be able to pick up the ball cleanly, and at least be able to carry it in the crosse.”

From there, Hain said she will focus on building a tough defense.

“Because I don’t have any real strong attack players—just a couple—my main focus will be in the defensive end.”

Emphasis will be placed on creating a defense to protect the goalie, and then clear the ball from the defensive end of the field to midfield, and forward to the attack zone.

To accomplish that, Hain is looking to one senior and a pair of sophomores to take charge this year.

Cherry Abdou, the senior, plays attack and is a positive, encouraging individual, Hain said in an interview a week before the team’s March 23 opener.

“She brings a different character to the game and is very supportive of all the players. She is continually upbeat, always bubbly, so that’s important. I don’t have anyone like that other than she, so that’s cool.”

Arielle Warner and Destiny Williams are two sophomores also looked upon as leaders.

“She’s one of the fastest girls on the team,” Hain said of Warner, who will take most of the team’s draws from her center midfield spot. Last year was the first year Warner played lacrosse, but she played throughout the summer and was anxious to get on the field this spring, Hain said.

Williams also has speed, and along with Warner, is probably the strongest on the field in terms of throwing, catching and knowing where to be on the field.

“She will definitely take on that role (of leader),” Hain said.

A core of five other players will also play a major role for Western this year.

Briana Beane, Stephanie Brunt, Kayla Coleman, Amoni Davis and Christina Harmon all return and are expected to be mentors for those who have less lacrosse experience.

Brunt is expected to join Abdou in the attack zone while Beane will run at midfield with Warner. Coleman and Harmon will play defense with Davis in the goal.

Although on varsity last year, Brunt, Coleman and Harmon saw little playing time, primarily due to the number of seniors on that team. Davis, focusing exclusively on goalie this year, had some minutes in that position yet also played some defense. Beane was only able to devote about half of last season to the sport.

“They are all very positive, which is wonderful,” Hain said. “And the girls that are new are positive,” she said, noting that there are times, however, when she needs to impress upon the girls the importance of hard work.

Playing its 10 games against other Baltimore City public school teams, Hain expects this year’s squad to end up in the middle of the six-team field after finishing second to Poly in 2010.

“I don’t think that we will be where we were last year because of the newness of the game to all of these girls,” she said. Reiterating that they are coachable, Hain said they “try anything I ask them to try and they work at it.”

As for the meaning of lacrosse at Western, Hain said the word "believe" is big.  “They have to believe in themselves and believe in everyone else, and I feel that each and every one of them has to have a drive and determination to be successful and have good self-esteem.”

And Hain, who is in her second year as lacrosse coach for the Doves, hopes for a future where the girls will stick with the sport and become successful.

“It’s hard when you don’t have a feeder system—especially we don’t have a middle school—so that’s a hard job trying to get girls to recruit.”

She noted that last year’s players did recruit for this season, which is why so many girls tried out for the sport.