After starting 3-3, most people are classifying the start of the lacrosse team’s season as inconsistent. They’ve taken notice.
“It’s definitely a struggle that we’ve been having because we’re not playing to our full potential,” senior captain Maddie Bray said. “It’s frustrating and I think that when we went to Florida, we kind of had an eye-opener and losing to Denison opened our eyes and made us realize that we need to pull it together.
The team’s last three games could’ve gone either way, with the score being decided by three goals or less in each.
For instance, against St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the team was up 8-3 but let up five consecutive goals on the way to a 18-17 loss. Two games later, in that game against Denison, a 10-7 lead turned into a 16-15 loss in overtime.
The team was able to mount a comeback win in the second half against Clarkson in the game between those two, but still, the inconsistency persists.
“I think [we’re] inconsistent when you look at two halves,” head coach Lindsay Delaney said. “We’re really strong offensively but not really strong defensively. So, [are we] inconsistent in those terms? Sure. I don’t see us really taking games and pulling away with our schedule. That’s not how our schedule is laid out to be.”
Delaney also said that there is not much pulling away in lacrosse as much anymore due to the structuring of new rules. She stated that possessions shift every 90 seconds, regardless of who’s scoring.
“We just lost in overtime, otherwise we’ve been handling what we need to handle,” Delaney said. “Going into Florida, we obviously beat Stevens and we lost to St. Mary’s by one with 15 seconds left, and then we handled Clarkson the way we needed to and then we lost in overtime, with key members of our team being out. I think the morale is fine, it’s where it needs to be. There’s a lot of game left, we can end with a really great record and push for an NJAC championship still.”
“I don’t think there’s any kind of negative thoughts and if there is I haven’t seen them yet,” Delaney continued. “I think team morale is where it needs to be, we’re fighting and we’re learning how to fight together.”
The team, according to Bray, have had discussions about the inconsistencies and want to start taking steps to fix it.
“I’m trying to communicate with the underclassman more and the other players on attack, just to make things flow better,” Bray said. “As a team, I think there’s a lot of people [where] anyone who’s out, anyone who’s not in that specific drill. Everyone’s kind of trying to talk to each other and help each other through certain situations because we’ve got a lot of young people on the field.”
“I think just with talking through situations and talking in the moment with each other will help us improve.”
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