Mountain Hawks look back on 2005 season
5/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
“I think this season was a good starting point for us,” explains Ota, whose offense was ranked second in all of the Patriot League with 191 goals. “Our long term goal is to build a lacrosse tradition at
Ota continues, “The players that are returning for next year had a taste of what it felt like to be in the tournament, of that championship experience and now they see how to handle it. It was certainly a goal of ours to make the tournament, and I think as the season wore on, the offensive plays came together, while our defensive sets settled in, translating into crucial wins down the stretch.”
Lehigh will graduate four student-athletes from this year’s team, including All Patriot League selections Barrie Cominsky and Sarah Starsoneck, as well as Kristen Sherry, and Annie Succop. “The seniors were special this year because there were only four, they are the ones that stuck with it for their entire careers and it meant a lot to them to end on a high note. I’m very impressed with how they were able to get on board with what we were trying to do, with the new coaching staff, they really bought into it.”
Ota continues, “These four young women are all solid leaders, and I was very happy that we made the tournament for them. I also fell that it was very appropriate that Barrie and Sarah were All-League selections, because they both had spectacular seasons for us.”
As Lehigh heads into the summer months, what will the Mountain Hawks be focusing on heading into the fall? “We’ll have the girls doing a lot of stick work over the summer months, as well as strength training from the workouts we’ll get from the staff here at Lehigh.”
Ota continued, “We need them to come back to school in good shape and then we can maintain a solid fitness level through the fall and into the winter when we really step up our conditioning. As a whole we have to improve our stick work, because the recruits we have coming in next year have very strong stick skills.”
With the loss of just four student-athletes, Ota is very optimistic and excited about the 2006 season. “Eileen Miller and Caitlin Carney will be our captains next season, which is very good because they will be our defensive leaders, our anchors back there. And we also bring back Kyle (Begina) in goal, and out top goal scorer from this year, in Amy Chamberlain, so we have a nice nucleus returning. A lot of leadership is coming back, senior leadership, and so the players, who were very enthusiastic this year, will be ready for next season.” Ota continues, “Add to that the fact that a lot of freshmen from this season played a good deal and we’ll have many sophomores who are battle tested and ready to contribute even more in their second seasons.”
The Mountain Hawks took a chance to celebrate the accomplishments of their season on May 3 at the Goosey Gander Restaurant in
Cominsky captured the Athlete of the Year Award, which is presented to the team member who makes the most outstanding athletic contribution to the accomplishments of the team. Cominsky was a First-Team All-Patriot League selection in 2005, following a season in which she scored 37 goals, handed out nine assists and totaled 46 points. The
Ota reflected on Cominsky’s outstanding senior season: “
Starsoneck won the Scholar Athlete of the Year Award for the third consecutive season. The Scholar-Athlete Award goes to the student-athlete who in the eyes of his/her teammates exemplifies the idea of the scholar-athlete. Starsoneck has posted an overall grade point average of 3.74 as a computer science and business major, while on the field, she was a Second-Team All-Patriot League selection in 2005. “Sarah is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be. She is a good role model for her teammates, particularly the younger ones.”
Miller won this year’s Coaches Award at the banquet, which is presented to the individual who made significant contributions to the well being of the team in terms of attitude, improvement, or special leadership. Miller, who along with Carney was announced as a captain for next season, started all 17 games for Lehigh this season and was one of the Mountain Hawks top defensive players, scooping up 38 ground balls, causing 12 turnovers and winning 11 draw controls.
“Eileen is a tremendous player and a tremendous leader, and gives support to the attacking end, just not the defense when she’s out there. She follows the coach’s directions very carefully, and also acts like a coach out on the field, which helps because we (the coaches) can’t be out there with them all the time,” explained Ota.
