Mountain Hawks eager to begin practice
1/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
 |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the start of the second semester earlier this week the beginning of lacrosse season cannot be far behind. The Lehigh women’s lacrosse squad will hit the practice field for the first time on Monday, January 25 as the Mountain Hawks begin their quest towards a Patriot League title. Second year head coach Jill Redfern has a talented and experienced roster to work with which includes the last three Patriot League Rookies of the Year as well as last season’s Offensive Player of the Year.
“During the first few weeks we’ll spend a lot of time on skill work and fundamentals,” Redfern explained. “The girls will also work with (strength and conditioning coach) Eric (Markovcy) on getting more fit and we’ll implement our offensive and defensive sets.” She continued, “Team defense is going to be a big priority for us; we have seen huge gains in this area from last year but have more work to do to get where we need to be.”
Lehigh returns six All-Patriot League performers from a season ago, including seniors Inneke Carmola and Kelsy Ferris. Carmola has been named to the All-League team each of her first three seasons in the Brown and White, including a First-Team selection last year. Carmola ranks among the nation’s active leaders with 116 goals and 51 assists during her career, including 28 and 25 a season ago. Ferris meanwhile has garnered a spot on the All-League teams the past two seasons and she enters her senior year with 474 saves and 29 victories.
Leading the way for Lehigh on offense is junior captain Lauren Dykstra, the 2009 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year. Dykstra ranked among the national leaders with 67 goals and 75 points a season ago, while her 82 ground balls led the country. In two seasons the marketing major has totaled 131 goals, which is just outside the top-five in program history. Despite all of her success, Dykstra has been hard at work in preparation for the upcoming season. “I have been practicing on taking more draws this season,” she said. “I also worked on my left shot so I can mix it up more in the games, and I’m always trying to improve my defense.”
Dykstra then spoke of what Lehigh accomplished during its fall season. “I think we had a very good fall, but we still need to learn from it and improve in some areas. We played some really good teams like Rutgers, Penn State and Johns Hopkins and I thought we played well and learned more about our strengths and weaknesses. Our defense is getting better and better, but we still need to work on improving our communication. As for our offense, we will work more on controlling the ball and being patient and waiting for the right shot. In the midfield we learned that we need to rely more on the passing game instead of simply running with it through the field.” She added, “I am really excited for this season and I have high hopes for us.”
Another of Lehigh’s All-League selections from last season is sophomore Leigh Ann Torcivia. Torcivia walked onto the team a year ago and responded with 12 starts, 41 ground balls, two goals and an assist. Torcivia’s speed also aided her in winning 37 draw controls and causing 11 turnovers. Since last season the New Jersey native has been working on becoming a stronger defender as well as a more accurate shooter. “I’ve been working on my 1 V 1 defense and also focusing on my shooting accuracy because I have been seeing time at midfield of late.”
Torcivia then spoke of what the Mountain Hawks will focus on during the first few weeks of practice. “We’re looking to build off of the progress we made in the fall by improving our fitness and communication skills in order to prepare for the teams we are going to face this season.” She continued, “The fall season went well for our team. We competed against very good teams which was a great learning experience for our team mentally and physically. The fall games showed us the importance of communication all over the field and that is something we can always work on. All in all, the fall was successful and I am confident that we will have more success to come in the spring.”
“We initiated the commitment to communication last year and I think the girls are embracing the fact that strong communication, on and off the field, will have a significant impact,” Redfern adds.
Dykstra added her thoughts on the beginning of practice. “I am hoping this team can get into a good rhythm during the first few weeks of practice. Some players might be in different positions this year so it is going to take some time to get used to. We also have a great group of freshmen on our team, so we’ll need to get comfortable with our roles and gel as a team. Our scrimmage day versus Princeton is going to be tough so that should be a nice way to go up versus good competition before the season starts and test our progress.”
“This group has different aspirations,” Redfern explained. “They are willing to work at a different level and have high expectations for the season.” She then discussed what Lehigh hopes to get out of its scrimmage day. “We want to see where our fitness level is and really just see where we are in all aspects of the game. It will give us a chance to see how our offense is coming together and if we can hold down the other team’s scoring. We need to get the most we can out of that trip; the opportunity to travel to Princeton is terrific.”
Other returning Mountain Hawks include 2009 Patriot League Rookie of the Year Kelly Draper, who burst onto the scene last year with 37 goals and 44 points, two time All-League honoree Allison Thomas who has started each game during the past two seasons and totaled 40 goals, Kindall Healy, who started 11 games in 2009 and scooped up 18 ground balls, and Lauren Murray who scored 12 goals as a freshman, while starting six contests. Alison Luongo, Morgan Miller, Anna Pierce and Lindsey Smith round out the list of Lehigh’s returning upperclassmen.
Lehigh will compete in one scrimmage day on February 14 before opening the season on February 20 versus Mount St. Mary’s at the Ulrich Sports Complex.
