February is here, so it’s time for men’s and women’s lacrosse. Both teams seem excited to hit the field and get their seasons underway. The women’s team is ready to meet high expectations this season.
“Our expectations for the team haven’t changed; we expect a high level of intensity, coachability, and respect for one another in everything that we do,” Erin Murphy, head coach of the women’s lacrosse team, said. “We expect the team to prepare for workouts and practice the same way they would for a game, with the same level of intensity.”
The men’s team welcomed Bryan Habick as head coach this summer. He wants to see the culture continue to grow with his young team.
“The culture that these guys have is exactly what I want. They compete respectfully, battle with pride, and are tenacious in the classroom,” Habick said. “I could not ask for a better leadership group as well as the entire team.”
With expectations and growing culture means goals to make the team better. Emma Miller, a sophomore on the women’s team, is motivated to meet the goals she has set for herself.
“My personal goals are to keep out of my own head and get more field awareness,” Miller said. “Being able to focus on the goal and keep the game moving in a direction that will benefit our team.”
While both teams have their idea of how they should perform this season, the fans have questions about what product they will see on the field.
“Cougar fans can expect to see a group of guys who love the sport they play. They’ll have the opportunity to watch us play all out for the whole game every time we step out on the field,” Matthew Clark, a sophomore on the men’s team, said. “There’s going to be a different energy carried by the team this year, and anyone who loves to watch passionate athletes compete needs to come to see us play.”
Elizabeth Peasley, the all-time leading goal scorer for the Cougars and Women’s Division III, graduated last year. This means the team will have big shoes to fill in her absence.
“Elizabeth Peasley set a very strong foundation for our program, not only as a phenomenal goal scorer but as a strong leader and teammate,” Murphy said. “Under her tutelage, players like Faith Bowlin have been able to quickly develop strong offensive and leadership skills. Faith has been a dominant offensive force since her freshman year, we expect nothing less of her this year both on offense and on the draw.”
Some fans of the men’s team are wondering what needs to happen for the team to have a successful season.
“In order for us to be successful this year, we need to keep a cool head. We will lose some games, and win some games; that’s a given,” Habick said. “But how we react to each scenario will be a true indicator as to how we are progressing. The skill of being able to feel loss, failure, or disappointment in yourself and knowing that it does not determine who you are but rather how you handle it speaks volumes.
