Season Preview: Women’s Lacrosse enters 2022 excited about young roster’s potential

By Wes Mayberry 

| 2022 Women's Lacrosse Schedule |

ADA — Coming off a 2021 season in which it earned its first Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament bid in program history, the Ohio Northern women's lacrosse team returns 18 letter winners as it looks to build on that achievement in 2022 under seventh-year head coach Beth Hemminger.

"We've seen a lot of growth over the last few years," Hemminger said. "We've had a lot of youth, so last season was a good opportunity for our players to get a lot of experience. Now our younger girls are elevating their games and stepping up into leadership roles."

Emily Boerger joins Hemminger this season as an assistant coach after serving in the same position for the Swiss National Team in 2021.

Boerger, who has also served coaching stints at Central Michigan, Merrimack (Mass.), Findlay and Ohio State, is a graduate of Urbana University, where she played lacrosse and set the school record for goals and points in a season.

"I'm really excited to have Emily join us," Hemminger said. "She has implemented some things that are allowing us to improve offensively, and she has a great energy that the girls feed off of."

After finishing 7-10 last season, the Polar Bears lost their second-leading goal-scorer in senior Annie McArn to graduation but return their other three All-OAC honorees from a year ago in juniors Lacey Wernoch (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) and Meredith Miller (Noblesville, Ind.) and sophomore Sydney Kilgore (Pleasant Plain/Little Miami).

"They have done a great job of stepping up and becoming leaders on the field, and they have consistently elevated their games," Hemminger said of that trio.

Overall, the Polar Bears' roster consists of two seniors, five juniors, 11 sophomores and six freshmen.

Here is a preview of the 2022 Ohio Northern women's lacrosse team, by position. 

Attack

The Polar Bears return three primary starters up front in Kilgore, senior Kaitlin Thomson (Atlanta, Ga./Chattahoochee) and sophomore Noel Orioli (Westerville/North).

Kilgore, an All-OAC Second Team selection last season, led the team in goals (49), assists (20) and points (69), recorded nine hat tricks and was twice named OAC Offensive Player of the Week. She started all 13 games she played in last season and set the single-season program record for points and assists and finished the year ranked fifth in the OAC in points, sixth in goals and seventh in assists. Her top single-game marks of 10 points and eight goals in 2021 tied program records, and her career-high seven assists is the most in team history for one game.

Kilgore has persevered through two ACL injuries in her lacrosse career to make her mark at ONU, as she enters her sophomore season fourth all-time in hat tricks and sixth in goals, assists and points.

"Sydney is a spark on the offensive end," Hemminger said. "She has gone through so much, but those injuries just add more fuel to the fire for what she wants to accomplish this year, which is exciting. We're getting her to be a little more versatile because she's a player that other teams take notice of and will focus on shutting down. I think she's going to have another successful season."

Thomson, a three-year letter winner who started all 17 games a year ago, ranked third on the team with 11 assists as a junior while also totaling 21 points, 10 goals and 12 ground balls. Through 35 career games, including 25 starts, she has tallied 35 points on 21 goals and 14 assists to go with 27 ground balls. Her assist and point totals rank seventh and 10th, respectively, on the program's all-time lists in those categories.

Orioli played in all 17 games in 2021, starting 15 of them, and finished the year with 33 points on 24 goals and nine assists. She recorded three hat tricks and ranked third on the team in points.

This position group also includes sophomores Emma LoGiudice (Wooster), Gabby Monastra (Wooster) and Anderson (Ind.) transfer Elizabeth Graham (Riverside/Carroll) along with freshmen Grace Wilson (Hope, Mich./H.H. Dow), Alise Callahan (Cedarburg, Wis.), Emily Miller (Trenton/Edgewood) and Keaghan Burden (Brunswick).

Midfield

Meredith Miller, junior Amanda Wells (Mason/William Mason) and sophomore Emma Perry (Pickerington/North) headline the Polar Bears' midfielders as returning starters from 2021.

Miller, a 2021 All-OAC Honorable Mention and Academic All-OAC selection, has started 21 of her 22 career games. She is coming off a sophomore season in which she tallied 31 goals, including four hat tricks, along with 25 ground balls, 25 draw controls and a team-high 22 caused turnovers. Miller ranked sixth in the OAC in caused turnovers and third on the team in goals in 2021. She enters her junior season ranked eighth in caused turnovers and 10th in goals, draw controls and hat tricks on the program's career leaderboards in those categories.

"Meredith has developed into an offensive threat and continues to elevate her game, and she's becoming more of a two-way player with skills both offensively and defensively," Hemminger said.

Like Miller, Wells is a two-year letter winner and a 2021 Academic All-OAC selection. She has started all 22 of the games she has played in her career and is coming off a sophomore season in which she tallied 12 goals and three assists along with 33 ground balls, 58 draw controls and 12 caused turnovers. She ranked second on the team in both ground balls and draw controls, and her total in the latter ranks third-best for a single season in program history. Wells enters her junior season ranked fifth in program history with 72 career draw controls.

"Amanda really controls the midfield. She's very consistent and is our workhorse on the field," Hemminger said. "Our challenge for her this year is to get her to be a little more selfish on the offensive end, and with what we've implemented offensively, I think she's going to have the opportunity to do that a little bit more."

Perry started all 17 games as a freshman last season, tallying a trio of hat tricks en route to finishing with 24 points on 22 goals and two assists along with 10 ground balls and 13 draw controls.

Sophomore Avary Snyder (Uniontown/Lake) rounds out the Polar Bears' midfielders.

"Avary had a breakout year for us last year, and we're expecting her to contribute again this year," Hemminger said.

Defense

Wernoch and senior Kate Naugle (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) are returning starters for the ONU defense.

Wernoch, who earned Second Team All-OAC honors and was an Academic All-OAC selection last season, finished second on the team in caused turnovers as a sophomore with 21. A starter in 19 of her 20 career games, Wernoch enters her junior season ranked ninth on the program's career caused turnovers list with 26.

"Lacey is a solid, consistent defender," Hemminger said. "I love her aggressive play — she does a great job of disrupting offenses — and she has done a good job of stepping up into a leadership role and being more vocal."

Naugle has started 34 of her 35 career games. A three-year letter winner and two-time Academic All-OAC selection, Naugle has six goals, 67 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers in her career. She led ONU, and tied for sixth in the OAC, in ground balls in 2021 and enters her senior season ranked ninth on the program's career list in that category.

"Kate has been a consistent player on the defensive end for us. She uses her speed and aggression very well," Hemminger said. "She's put in a lot of hard work, and I love her mindset — she's never one who has a bad game."

Juniors Sydney Vanderbilt (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) and Emmily Moses (Wooster), sophomores Jocelyn Morelli (Saint Peters, Mo./Francis Howell Central) and Taylor Hannam-Zatz (Oak Hill, Va./Chantilly) and freshmen Rebecca Weinel (Dayton/Chaminade Julienne) and Mia Andrews-Pope (Dayton/Chaminade Julienne) round out the Polar Bears' defense.

"Defensively, we're going to play a little more aggressively this year because we have the players to do that," Hemminger said.

Goalkeeper

Northern's two returning goalkeepers are sophomores who both received playing time as freshmen in 2021.

Molly Dixson (Cannonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) led the way, playing in all 17 games and making 10 starts en route to posting a 5-6 record and ranking ninth in the OAC with 69 saves.

Chloe Millican (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) played in nine games as a reserve last year, posting 21 saves and a 9.13 GAA.

"We play in a very tough conference, and our goalies are coming back with that experience under their belts and are more confident and more vocal," Hemminger said.

Schedule

The Polar Bears open their 2022 schedule at Kalamazoo (Mich.) on Feb. 19 as part of a three-game road trip rounded out by games at Adrian (Mich.) on Feb. 23 and Franciscan on Feb. 26.

The team's home opener is March 2 against Wittenberg. ONU will also face Trine (Ind.), Southwestern (Tex.), Northwestern (Minn.) and Earlham (Ind.) in its non-conference schedule.

Northern opens OAC play at Mount Union on March 26. Other OAC road opponents include Marietta, Heidelberg and Capital. The Polar Bears will face OAC foes Muskingum, Otterbein, John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace at home.

The 2022 OAC Tournament is scheduled for April 30 through May 7.