Over the last few seasons, the women's lacrosse team has been competitive in the NESCAC, posting winning conference records in each of the last four seasons and challenging the best teams in the conference. But this year, the team wants to take the next step — from competitive to elite.
The roster certainly has the groundwork for success, with eight seniors returning from a team that went to the second round of the NCAA tournament and the semifinals of the NESCAC last year. Even before playing any official games, the team has seen the benefits of having many experienced players.
"I think the state of our team is really great, because we just have a huge returning senior class and we've all been playing together for four years," senior tri-captain Katie Lotz said. "And all the underclassmen are playing amazingly. Even the difference from our first scrimmage to our second scrimmage was amazing to see."
The strength of the Jumbos lies in their offense, which scored 104 conference goals last year, good for second in the NESCAC. However, the team will find it more difficult to repeat that performance without the help of senior Steph Perez, who last year was an Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Second Team All-American. Team members declined to comment on why Perez will not be playing this year, but she will certainly be missed after contributing 32 goals from the midfield last season.
"She was a really important player, but people are already stepping up," senior midfielder Emily Pillemer said. "Everyone knows it's a big spot to fill, but everyone is also taking on little bit more responsibility to fill the gap."
The team will have to rely on some of the underclassmen, including last year's 37-goal scorer, sophomore attackman Gabby Horner, to replace some of the scoring and intangibles that Perez brought to the team.
"Obviously it's a really hard adjustment, because we'll never replace her and she's awesome," Lotz said of Perez. "But I think we're slowly starting to figure out how to play without her. We're doing our best."
But for all of the focus on the team's already-stellar offense, the Jumbos have also been working hard on improving their defense, which faltered toward the end of last year as the team allowed 10 or more goals in four of its last six games.
According to Lotz, the team has introduced a new defense, going from a zone with a chase to a man defense or a backer zone, a process that has consumed much of the team's practice time in the last two weeks. The team will also rely on junior Tess Shapanka for the majority of the goaltending duties, after starter Sara Bloom (A '11) graduated last year.
With all the changes involving the team's roster and strategy, the freshmen might be expected to struggle to adjust to their new team. However, on a squad that has eight freshmen on a roster of just 25 players, the first-years have already begun to assimilate into the style of play required at the college level.
"Our class has eight [players], and so do they, so it's interesting to look back and see how we must've been," Lotz said. "I think they all have really great skill and they're all starting to adjust to playing in college."
Once the team masters the new defensive system and adjusts to offensive roster changes, Tufts will likely be able to compete with anyone in the league. The team's first test will be an unknown Hamilton squad, on Saturday at Bello Field.
"We definitely want an NCAA bid and want to be competitive in NESCAC like we have been for the last three years," Pillemer said. "Last year lost we lost five one-goal games, so we want to be on the winning end of some of those games this year. If we do that, there's no reason why we can't achieve our goals."
