Lehigh reflects on season; looks towards future
5/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
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Lehigh held its end of the season banquet this past week, in which second-year head coach Liz Ota discussed the past year, the program’s three departing seniors reflected on their careers, and the presentation of the Scholar Athlete Award, Athlete of the Year, and Coaches Award all took place.
“It was an up and down season for us,” explains Ota. “We had some very good wins, but had trouble gaining momentum and I think that is typical of a young squad. It took the younger girls awhile to learn the ropes, but they will all be a year older next season and combined with what we feel is a very strong recruiting class, we’ll have a solid nucleus to build upon.”
Ota continues, “We’re very excited about the play of Sara MacIntyre after the brilliant freshman season she had. It’s nice to have someone with that kind of scoring ability, especially knowing she will be here for three more seasons.” MacIntyre, who was honored as the Patriot League Co-Rookie of the Year, led the Patriot League with 47 goals, breaking the school record for scores by a freshman, which eclipsed the mark set by both Jill Altshuler and Carla Juliani. For her efforts, the
The Mountain Hawks say goodbye to a talented trio of seniors, in Kyle Begina, Caitlin Carney and Eileen Miller, each of whom left their impression on the program. Despite having three head coaches during their time on
Carney and Miller were both honored as this year’s Coaches Award winners, as the co-captains anchored the Mountain Hawks defense on the field, and led their younger teammates off of it. “Eileen and Caitlin solidified mine and (associate head coach) Jill Redfern’s mission this season,” explains Ota. “They continually put the team’s interest in front of their own and were huge contributors both on and off of the field.” Ota continues, “Those two were the anchor of our defense, they were pivotal in the zone for us and were great one v. one defenders. Caitlin and Eileen embody what we value deeply in our program and will be missed.”
A Second-Team All-Patriot League selection this season with 20 goals and seven assists, sophomore Christy Smith asserted herself as one of Lehigh’s most potent performers on the field. In the classroom, the Dean’s List and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll member continued to impress, as she was honored with the Scholar Athlete of the Year award. An engineering major, Smith maintains a grade point average of 3.84 and is also an All-League performer for Lehigh’s varsity field hockey team. “Christy is an incredible athlete on the field and a great student off of it,” Ota explains. “She excels in a challenging major while juggling the rigors of playing two varsity sports. A true student-athlete, Christy is a tremendous example for everyone in our program.”
With nearly the entire team returning next season, including 100 percent of the team’s goal scoring and 98 percent of its assist numbers, Ota is very optimistic as she looks towards the future. “I feel like our recruiting class will add some much needed depth to the program – something that we have missed in my first two years. I’m excited about adding two goal keepers, who will have the chance to work with (rising junior) Brittany Besler. Having three goal keepers on the roster is certainly an improvement and should pay large dividends down the road.”
Ota continues, “Caitlin Carney is also going to be staying on as our graduate assistant which will give us three on-field coaches. Caitlin has been through two years of mine and Jill’s system and really understands what we are trying to accomplish, so she will be a big asset as well.” Ota adds, “We’re looking for more consistency on the offensive end. Those girls (on offense) are all returning after having formed a nice chemistry this season and they have developed a system between them, which is a good thing. All of this works in our favor as we continue to build momentum and head into next season.”
Photos Copyright (2006), Neil Tranter.
