McDaniel Lacrosse Preview

By Elec Trainor

Although the makeup of the teams may be extremely different, the goals remain the same for the McDaniel Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse teams.

“I have very high expectations for this year” said DJ Rickels, returning All-American attackman for the men’s squad, “I believe that we have a great opportunity to make it to the championship and even to the NCAA’s.”

The men’s team has made it to the Centennial Conference Playoff’s two years straight, only to be knocked out of the tournament early each year. Men’s Head Coach Matthew Hatton is ready to break that trend.

“We have been knocking on the door the last two years and we want to kick that door in this year and play on the biggest stage that there is for our sport; the NCAA Tournament,” Hatton said.

With eight of the top nine scorers returning from a year ago;  a majority of starters returning on defense; and an infusion of talented transfers and freshmen, the timing to make a run at the title seems to be at hand.

Senior defender Matt Mummert explains, “We have the most talented team that I’ve seen since I’ve been here at McDaniel, so I think this could be the year to hopefully make it to the championship.”

For the Women’s team, however, the returning scorer and defenders are not there. Unlike the Men’s team, they lost their All-American attacker in Brittany Bear and their All-CC goalkeeper in Leanne Hollinger to graduation. They may not have all the pieces in place yet, getting eleven new freshmen accustomed to the program, but the hopes of a championship have not faded.

Junior midfielder Steph Nichols is excited to see how the team performs this season.

“So far, we have shown a lot of hard work and energy during preseason. We know how good we can be and are dedicated to reach our full potential. With our continued motivation and hard work, I truly believe we will succeed this season,” Nichols said.

But with 11 of the 25 girls being completely new to the program, is the Centennial Conference Championship too much to hope for?

Sophomore and returning All-CC midfielder Paige Messersmith doesn’t think so. In fact, she feels that the new blood is only making things better for the Terror.

“We have a lot of young players, which is really changing the dynamic of the team for the best,” Messersmith said. “They bring great energy and enthusiasm to the field… (With them) the Centennial Conference Championship is definately a realistic goal.”

Along with the fresh talent, the women’s lacrosse team looks to their overall focus on fitness to help them succeed where they have struggled in years past.

“This offseason we really focused on our conditioning and fundamental skills to set the tone for the upcoming season.  As a team, we are really focusing on starting games off strong. Last season we would get behind early and have to fight our way back to get the win,” said Messersmith.

Head Coach Muffie Bliss agrees that this improved vigor will be an advantage heading into the season. “Our fitness and speed are strong and we will be looking to utilize these qualities in key games” said Bliss.

The two teams are taking drastically different journeys, but hope to arrive at the same destination, a Centennial Conference Championship.