by Kirby Boehm
This spring the Capital University Women’s Lacrosse team will make its debut as a varsity sport. The team will represent Capital in 14 regular season games, beginning Saturday, March 1, at home against Franciscan.
The team is coached by Stacey Wood and assisted by Jennifer Close and Kylie McClure. The staff has had the team working since the fall to help build the skills of the players and forge a bond between teammates.
The team is made up of 20 players: two seniors, six juniors, three sophomores, and nine freshmen. For many team members this will be the first time they have ever played competitive lacrosse, while some played in high school and were recruited to play at Capital.
Freshman Korri Titus says that having a young team has made some of the more experienced players hone in on the basic skills.
“Fine tuning our fundamental skills has been a major point of attention in our preparation for the season,” Titus said.
Capital is one of five OAC schools to offer women’s lacrosse and begins conference play Saturday, April 12, against Mount Union. The Raiders finished their inaugural 2013 season with a 13-1 record.
An inaugural season similar to the Raiders’ would be an incredible success for the Crusaders, but the Crusaders recognize the challenges the first-year program will face.
“Of course we want to win the OAC, but we realize to do this we must work together on the field,” Titus said. “We can accomplish this by building up our trust as a team.”
Many of the players for the Crusaders will begin the year with little to no lacrosse experience and will be forced to learn the game as the season progresses. The Crusaders will have to focus on maintaining a high level of energy and effort to achieve their maximum performance levels.
“Our team will be in very good condition and get our stick work down,” Titus said. “This will allow us to rack up some points on the other teams.”
One inconvenience the team has had to deal with in recent months has been the fierce cold across Central Ohio. The cold has limited the team’s opportunities to get outside to play on their home field.
With their first scrimmage coming up this Saturday, the team hopes to have the snow removed from the field and to hold some practices in the elements.
The team recognizes the fact that most of their games at the beginning of the year will be in frigid temperatures, but it is something they are just going to have to deal with.
“We have had to share the field house with other teams, so we are excited to get outside to work on lacrosse regardless of the temperature,” Titus said.
Moving forward Titus states that Coach Woods focuses in on the fact that the team is only as strong as its weakest link.
“We can only do so much in practice and if someone can’t pass and catch, then it’s important that they are working on their own,” Titus said.
Woods is looking to build a powerhouse at Capital, and with the history of lacrosse in Ohio, a successful inaugural season could speed up that process. Woods and the Crusaders will start their journey Saturday, March 1 at home against Franciscan at 12:00 p.m.
kboehm789@capital.edu
