By Dominic Rapposelli
Sports Editor
The 2024 WC lacrosse campaign kicked off with a pair of home games on Feb. 17.
After a few time changes due to weather, the opening of the season finally started for the Shorewomen at 1:30 p.m. against the Drew Rangers.
Head coach of the Shorewomen Meghan Keelan made her debut at the helm of the Sorewomen.
Coach Keelan saw success at other stops before WC, including as head coach of Rhodes,where she led the Lynx to six playoff berths in seven years as a head coach. Coach Keelan adds that an important part of her past success is bringing a positive “team culture” wherever she goes.
“I would describe myself as a ‘players’-coach’ and our staff has been very intentional about encouraging dialogue between the team and the coaches. We create a culture of inclusion and reinforce that your value to the program has nothing to do with the role you play on game day,” Coach Keelan said.
Coach Keelan enjoyed a positive inaugural outing, to the tune of a 23-11 victory over the Rangers.
The Shorewomen got things going with a goal from sophomore Mia Salvatierra, who found the back of the net just under two minutes into the game. Her goal put the home squad ahead for good. Salvatierra put on a show with a career high six points coming from four goals and two assists.
Joining her in the four goal club was sophore Piper Evans. Playing in her first game with WC, eans was awarded the GooseNation TV shorewoman player of the game.
Joining Evans, several freshmen made their debut with the club, something to look for in the upcoming season.
“I am also looking forward to playing with the freshmen as they bring a lot of new talent to the team that will help us this season,” senior Abby Laubach said.
Drew would come within two points of the Shorewomen in the second quarter. The gap only briefly shrunk as senior Ashley Devlin and Salvatiera scored the final two goals in the opening half to re-extend their lead.
WC outscored Drew 12-4 in the second half, cruising to their third straight opening day win to start the season 1-0.
“We are really excited for this season. The team has worked incredibly hard since our first practice this fall to elevate our game and be ready to compete against a slate of tough opponents. The Centennial Conference is always strong, and we are ready for the challenge,” coach Keelan said.
The Shorewomen take the field on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at St. Mary’s at 5:00 p.m.
The Shoremen took over shortly after the conclusion of the earlier game. WC faced Eastern in the opener for the second consecutive year.
Eastern Fell to the Shoremen in Philadelphia Pa. last season, 16-12. This time around, the Eagles had the better of the play, flying to a 14-7 victory.
Junior Ben Dickinon scored the first goal for WC, cutting the Eastern lead down to 4-1. Dickinson boasted a strong opening performance, thrice finding the back of the net.
WC failed to capitalize on man-up opportunities against the Eagles. On the seven times that Eastern had a player go to the sin bin, WC only found the back of the net once.
WC will travel to take on seventh ranked Washington and Lee on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 1:00 p.m.