Season Preview: Women's Lacrosse looks for success in 2017
By Caleb Scott
ADA —The Ohio Northern women's lacrosse team will look to build off of its inaugural season and find success during the 2017 season under second-year head coach Beth Hemminger.
The Polar Bears finished 7-9 overall in 2016 during its inaugural season as a varsity sport at Ohio Northern and posted a 2-5 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
Northern returns seven letterwinners in 2017, including two attackers, two defenders, two midfielders and one goalie.
"This team has really been working hard during the offseason," said head coach Beth Hemminger. "They have been pushing and challenging each other on and off the field and we have high hopes for this season."
Here is a breakdown of the 2017 team, by position:
Attackers
Kayla Reuss (Cincinnati/Seton) and sophomore Alexis Cailor (Boardman) are returning to the team after lettering a season ago.
Reuss started 15 games last season, while Cailor made starts in 10 games for Northern.
"Alexis and Kayla are really going to have to step up this season," said Hemminger. "Kayla is our lone attacking senior this year and with the majority of our offense being freshmen we will need her to play a bigger role for us."
The Polar Bears also welcome freshmen attackers Olivia Starcher (Hilliard/Davidson), Betsy Naugle (Moon Township, Pa./Moon) and Katie McCourt (Fairview Park/Magnificat).
"Even though our offense consists of a number of newcomers, the talent is there," said Hemminger. "Betsy is dynamic player for us offensively and will be able to get things going behind the net for us. She has the ability to go to goal but will be able to hit the open players as well. Freshman Katie McCourt is another newcomer we will look to rely on in the offensive end as well. She has great speed and is shifty with her dodges. I can see her giving defenders a lot of trouble this year."
Defenders
The defense welcomes back two letterwinners, sophomore Emily Hershberger (Jackson Township/Jackson) and junior Chelsea Cousins (Lewis Center/Olentangy).
Hershberger ranked second on the team last season with 24 caused turnovers, and was tied for third on the team with 35 grounds balls.
Cousins was also tied for third on the team with 35 ground balls and 23 ground balls.
"Emily and Chelsea will have a larger role this season," said Hemminger. "They really stepped up last year and we will look to them to help guide our freshmen in the backfield. With the addition of freshmen Hailey Green (South Lyon, Mich.), Rachel Shipman (Noblesville, Ind.), and Chrysa Soures (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas), our defensive unit is more cohesive and they have really embraced our new defensive philosophy. Rachel has a great sense of awareness on the field and is able to anticipate extremely well. This allows her to disrupt the attacking team and create more pressure when needed. Chrysa and Hailey are two more solid defenders who will see a lot of time this year."
Midfielders
The midfield will be anchored by Ohio Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Maddie Storr (Clarence, N.Y.).
Storr had a breakout freshman season for Northern as she led the team in goals (53), points (57), ground balls (38), draw controls (60) and caused turnovers (28).
Joining Storr at the midfield position are freshmen Jacqui Lohman (Liberty Township/Lakota East), Elizabeth Carter (Lebanon) and Ann McArn (Bay Village/Western Reserve Academy).
"We are certainly glad to have Maddie back with us this season" said Hemminger. "She's a strong competitor and it spreads to her teammates. I am really excited about the group joining her this year in the midfield. Annie made the move from defender to midfield which has opened things up for us quite a bit. Jacqui and Eli are also two very talented players that will see time on the field this season. We are very young at this position but we are certainly talented."
Goalies
Junior letterwinner Shannen Larsen Van Alstine (Neenah, Wis.) will lead the Polar Bears in the goal in 2017.
Larsen Van Alstine started in 14 of ONU's 16 contests last season, while logging over 803 minutes and posting a team-high 150 saves.
Freshmen Kelli Hill (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) and Whitney Jones-Downs (Murrieta, Cal./Santana) will also look for minutes in the goal.
"Shannen will have to be our rock defensively. She will need to be more vocal this season and take on a leadership role for this team. She had a really good sophomore campaign and we are glad to have her back," said Hemminger. " Kelli and Whitney have a good shot at seeing some time on the field this season. They both had good preseasons and we hope to see that translate over to the regular season."
Schedule
Northern will open its campaign Feb. 25 as it hosts Franciscan at Dial-Roberson Stadium at 3:30 pm.
The Polar Bears will welcome Wooster to Ada on Mar. 3 at 6 pm.
Before returning home to host Ursuline on Mar. 18, Northern will make a Spring Break trip to Florida where it will take on Kean (N.J.) and Marymount (Va.) on Mar. 7 and 9.
Northern will travel to Kenyon and St. Mary's (Ind.) on Mar. 22 and 25 before hosting Hiram on Mar. 28 in its final non-conference action of the season.
ONU opens the OAC portion of the schedule on Apr. 1 as it hosts Mount Union at Dial Roberson Stadium.
The Polar Bears will also host Muskingum on Apr. 8, John Carroll on Apr. 22, and Otterbein on Apr. 26 in OAC action.
Northern will travel to conference-foes Wilmington on Apr. 5, Heidelberg on Apr. 12, Baldwin Wallace on Apr. 14, and Capital on Apr. 29.
The OAC Tournament is slated for May 3 and 6.
"As a young program we still have high expectations for this group," said Hemminger. "We strive to move up in the rankings this year. Our roster may be small but these girls are all on the same page and have really bought into what we are trying to accomplish. We definitely have the talent to be successful this season."