The women’s lacrosse team had a disappointing season in 2007, as the Jeffs were ranked first in the nation by insidelacrosse.com’s preseason poll, but failed to reach the NCAA Tournament. This season, Amherst looks to rebound with a remarkably different cast of characters.
Seven players graduated from the 2007 squad, all of whom typically started. Nevertheless, Amherst’s returners number 14, forming a solid core of experienced players. Included in that group are senior tri-captains defender Gretchen DeLuke, attacker Maddie Hoeg and goalie Linda McEvoy. DeLuke and McEvoy will anchor the Jeffs’ defense that ranked third in the NESCAC with an 8.31 goals-allowed average last year. This will be McEvoy’s third season starting in goal for Amherst. Hoeg is a consistent attacker who has produced 29 points in each of the last two seasons. Bolstering Amherst’s attack is junior Amy Craig who led the NESCAC with 53 goals last year. The women’s lacrosse team also boasts speed and skill in the midfield with returning starters Mary Noonan ’09 and Kathleen Scheld ’10.
The departure of the large class of 2007—especially attacker Alyssa Briody, who led the team in points two years in a row—certainly leaves some gaps. However, with the influx of 10 first-years, the Jeffs are confident that they have the personnel for a successful season.
How that success will be measured is yet to be determined. In the past, an appropriate benchmark would have been advancing as far as possible in the NCAA Tournament. This year, the fresh blood has given the Jeffs a fresh outlook. “We are trying to dispel as much history as possible from our team especially because we have so many new faces,” said McEvoy. “We want to learn from our past mistakes but not lean on our past successes.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the youthful squad, eighth-ranked Amherst has the potential to be a force in the NESCAC and on the national level.
“I think that having a young squad breeds a certain enthusiasm. It also allows us to integrate some new dynamics to our play,” said Noonan. “The freshmen are all wonderful additions to an already talented team, and I am really looking forward to this season and am banking on our amazing potential.”
The Jeffs got their first taste of success in the season opener against Wesleyan University on Sunday. The game, played on the Cardinals’ campus, was a battle of Wesleyan’s intensity versus Amherst’s skill. “They were so pumped up,” said McEvoy of the Cardinals. “They are always at the middle to the bottom of the NESCAC. Every year every time we play them they bring a lot of intensity to try to prove themselves among the NESCAC. In response we grew up a lot as a team learning to deal with pressure and a team that doesn’t match up skill-wise but is equally if not way more determined.”
Amherst opened the scoring as first-year Liz Adamo notched the first two goals of her collegiate career. Noonan added two goals in the first half as Amherst held a 4-2 lead at halftime. Hoeg’s tally stretched the Jeffs’ lead to 5-2 in the beginning of the second half, but Wesleyan mounted a comeback from there.
“It did not feel as close in first half,” said McEvoy. “We let them catch up. It was close in second half with intensity going both ways and Wesleyan surged.”
The Cardinals tied the game, 6-6, at 10:27. With 5:44 Amherst pulled ahead, only to have Wesleyan tie the game at seven with 39 seconds remaining. In the first overtime session, Wesleyan struck first, 39 seconds into the three-minute frame. Amherst responded with goals by attacker Christina Hopkins ’10 and Noonan, and McEvoy made a big save on a free position shot to seal the 9-8 win.
The Jeffs do not have a long time to savor their victory with their home opener tomorrow. As the season progresses, they will look to build on the lessons learned from their hard-fought win. “Our outlook is very positive and yet very unclear,” said McEvoy. “We are trying to take every game and practice one day at a time. We are very excited and hoping for a lot of success.”