By Dominic Rapposelli
Elm Staff Writer
Shorewomen lacrosse is back for their 2023 campaign. After reaching the Centennial Conference playoffs for the tenth straight season, the team expects to keeping the decade long tradition of playoff lacrosse going.
This season, the Shorewomen are ranked fourth in the Conference’s annual preseason poll. Junior captain Abby Laubach said that the ranking gives the team a chance to prove people wrong. “We need to play on our toes and how we know to play, on any given day any team can win,” Laubach said.
The schedule boasts both Conference and non-Conference opponents, conference rivals Gettysburg College, ranked fifth, Franklin and Marshall College, ranked sixth, and Haverford College, ranked twenty fourth, will all take on the Shorewomen this spring.
Senior captain Ellie Morrall believes the key to upsetting these ranked teams is confidence. “The best thing we can do is to be confident in our abilities and know that anything is possible against these teams,” Morrall said.
Before Conference play kicks off on March 25 against the Ursinus Bears, the Shorewomen will face a pair of non-Conference teams. Back-to-back contests against York College and Salisbury University that will take place March 1 and March 4.
Laubach sees these games as potential confidence boosters cites last season’s game against Salisbury University as a momentum-builder. “Last year we held Salisbury to a 9-7 game, which definitely showed our potential and also helped our confidence going into Conference play,” Laubach said.
Last season, the Shorewomen made a postseason run after finishing 5-4 in Conference action and 8-10 overall. The team beat Swarthmore College in the first round of the postseason 10-6 at Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium. They would then travel to Gettysburg College where they would fall 14-9.
“Last year we were knocked out in the semi-final round, so it is definitely a person and team goal to make it to the conference championship this year,” Laubach said.
The team thinks this season will be no different in terms of reaching the tournament yet again. Laubach said that the team has the potential and skill to return to the Conference playoffs, but the team will have to play hard in every game.
Morrall enters her senior year excited for her fourth year with the team. The team has everything they need to be successful, according to Morrall.
The Shorewomen’s first game is Feb. 22 against Fairleigh-Dickinson University. With a long season to go, there is no shortage of excitement and anticipation coming from the locker room. “The energy is high, and we are ready to show the Conference what the Shorewomen are all about this 2023 season,” Laubach said.