Women’s Lacrosse Opens Second Season with Pioneers/Eagles

The Anderson University women's lacrosse team opens the program's second season with home matches against Marietta College and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse this weekend at Macholtz Stadium.

SETTING THE SCENE

The Ravens clash with Marietta College (3-1) on Saturday at 11 a.m. Marietta finished with a 3-13 record during the program's first year last season.

"Like us, Marietta is also going into their second season," Coach Colin McSharar said. "Coach Malory and her staff have done a great job building that program. They're a balanced team, and will be aggressive from the get-go."

Anderson faces off with Wisconsin-La Crosse on Sunday at 10 a.m. The Eagles (0-1) are in their debut season and take on Hanover College (2-2) and Earlham College (3-1) in the days prior to their collision course with the Ravens.

"UW-La Crosse is brand-new this season," said McSharar, who enters his second season as head coach of the Ravens. They have a young, but very talented coach. They have a busy weekend touring the HCLC. They play Hanover on Friday, Earlham on Saturday, then us on Sunday morning. Regardless, they will look to finish their weekend strong against us."

A LOOK AT THE HCLC

Anderson was tabbed fourth in the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference (HCLC) poll, which tops its sixth-place selection during its inaugural season. Transylvania University was picked to earn its third consecutive conference title, dating back to its membership in the Ohio River Lacrosse Conference. The Pioneers garnered 36 points and all possible first-place votes. Hanover College was picked second with 29 points, finishing ahead of Earlham College (25), Anderson (14), Mount St. Joseph University (12) and Franklin College (10), which rounds out the HCLC preseason poll.

Teams that finish in the top four of the HCLC standings qualify for the HCLC Tournament.

"Our main goal this year is to make the conference tournament at the end of the season. Doing so will be a huge step for our program."

A LOOK AT THE RAVENS

The Ravens put together a 2-8 record during their inaugural season, while playing the full season with one less player.

"Our biggest strength is hunger. We played every game last season short-handed. That in mind, we lost several close games. This year is completely different. Our numbers are healthier than last year's and we're more talented. This team is hungry to make an immediate impact in the conference."

Samantha Huber returns after garnering second-team all-HCLC honors last season. The St. Louis, Mo. native led the Ravens last season with 28 points on 25 goals and three assists. Huber paced the team with 29 ground balls and also recorded 34 draw controls and 10 caused turnovers.

"I think Sam Huber will pick up right where she left off last season. She's an impact player."

Mallory Housman also collected second-team all-HCAC honors last season. The Evansville native produced 19 points on seven goals and a team-high 12 assists. Housman tallied 26 ground balls, 25 draw controls and a team-high 16 caused turnovers.

Kaitlyn Lawson netted 13 goals for Anderson. The Newburgh native racked up a team-high 35 draw controls last season.

"Kaitlyn has improved immensely since the season ended last April. She'll play a vital role both offensively and defensively."

Nadia Bentley provided seven points, six goals, one assist, 25 ground balls and seven caused turnovers last season.

"Nadia Bentley has gotten a lot faster and has continued to show great leadership."

Emily Albert also forced five turnovers last year.

Sabrina Morrison, Katie Essick, Brooke Carey, Samantha Kulesa, Makayla Barbour, Elizabeth Graham, Trista Holler, Madison Leonard and Gretta Mesarosh each look to make contributions in their first season with the Ravens.

"Elizabeth will have a great season. She has been playing well and adds a certain skill set that we have been missing on offense. Also, Madison Leonard is a very talented goalie coming to us from Texas."

The Ravens will enter a competitive battle for an HCLC Tournament berth as the HCLC begins its first year of utilizing a double-round-robin schedule.

"Every conference game is huge. This year, we play every conference opponent twice. So the fight for playoff spots is going to be fun to watch."

After spending last season short-handed, Anderson looks to stay healthy and develop with the conference to punch its ticket to the HCLC Tournament.

"If we stay healthy, we'll have a great year!  We are leaps and bounds better than we were last year. Our freshman class is solid. But with that, most everyone else in our conference has gotten better as well. Last year, we had no expectations. This year, we do."