The Lasell College women's lacrosse team enters the 2012 season looking to improve on last year's appearance in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship game. In 2011, the Lasers finished 11-7 overall and 7-1 in GNAC play, before falling to Norwich University in the GNAC Finals 12-8. The season was a record-breaking one for Lasell women's lacrosse under first-year head coach Cait Connolly, as they established a new program record for wins with 11, reached their first conference championship game and earned their first ECAC postseason berth.
The 2012 Lasers will feature nine newcomers who will help offset the loss of six seniors to graduation. Lasell returns two first team All-GNAC performers from a season ago, junior Ashley Slattery and sophomore Brittany Wuorio. Slattery, a junior, tallied team highs in points (66), goals (55), ground balls (45), draw controls (98) and caused turnovers (13) and posted an impressive .647 shooting percentage in 2011. In her freshman year Wuorio finished second on the team in points (65), goals (46) and tied for the team lead in assists with 19. This duo will get help from junior Rebecca Stanton who scored 25 goals and gathered 22 ground balls, to form a potent offensive attack for the Lasers.
Senior Riley Fickett returns to lead the defense and will be joined by a pair of talented newcomers in defender Abbi Scrutchfield and goalkeeper Alexa Katsigianis. Katsigianis will have big shoes to follow replacing departed senior Kristin Coderre, who finished 4th in the nation in saves and 32nd in the country in save percentage.
Coach Connolly is excited for the upcoming season, and pointed to taking care of the fundamentals as the biggest keys for her young squad. "First and foremost we have to take care of the ball in transition. If we are able to stay disciplined with our systems in the attack and on the defensive end and then don't allow our opposition to get easy scoring chances when our defense isn't set we will have a chance to be successful."
The Lasers will open their 2012 schedule on March 7th, when they travel to Curry College in a rematch of last year's ECAC semifinal. The rest of their non-league schedule has a pair of North Atlantic Conference schools, Colby-Sawyer College and The University of Maine at Farmington, as well as Rhode Island College, Wellesley, and Nichols College.
2012 Women's Lacrosse Media Guide
Scouting Curry College: The Curry Women's Lacrosse team is coming off their most successful season in the program's history. The Colonels finished with an overall record of 16-5 and a 9-2 record in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. Curry advanced to the semi-final round, after defeating Salve Regina University in the quarterfinal game, but lost by just one goal to the eventual CCC champion Endicott College. The Colonels also advanced to the ECAC Championship game following the CCC Tournament. Curry defeated Colby-Sawyer College in the first round and fell to Western New England University in the championship game.
On attack, Curry welcomes back junior Ana Bottary who enjoyed a solid sophomore campaign. Bottary finished third on the team for total points with 69 on 55 goals and 14 assists. She was also named to the CCC All-Conference Second Team. The coaches expect that Bottary will lead the attack with her accurate shooting power and speed. Sophomores Deanna Monfredo and Kelly Ethier will also be looked upon as threats on the attack. The two have great vision for the net and will no doubt use that vision to score and assist. Looking to break into the starting line-up are freshmen Caitlin Corkery and Kelly Malone .
The Colonels welcome back all three of their top defenders from the 2011 season in senior Co-Captains Michaela Powers and Heather Breton and sophomore Mel Brickey. Brickey led the team with 47 caused turnovers and was named to the CCC All-Conference First Team. Both Powers and Breton have been starters since their freshman year and will continue their roles as anchors of the defensive unit. Junior Kim Heintzelman returns for her second stint on defense and with her hard work in the off-season should see valuable playing time. Freshman Sam Robinson is also a strong defender and will work towards
getting significant playing time. The strongest corps this season will be the midfielders. With the speed, skill and endurance this year's squad has, the midfield will play a vital role in the success of the season. Returning to the midfield as a center is sophomore Kaitlin Cloutier . Cloutier finished last season as a center and with the success she had, earned herself the starting position for the 2012 campaign. Sophomore Haley Carey, who missed out on playing her freshman year, will have an immediate impact on the team.