Women's Lacrosse Debuts against Monmouth
March 1, 2019
The Anderson University women's lacrosse team hosts Monmouth College for Anderson's program debut on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Macholtz Stadium.
Anderson expects to face the adversity of starting a new program, but enable itself to lay the foundation of the program for the future.
"There are a lot of growing pains and limitations you have when it comes to having your first-ever season, but with great difficulty comes great opportunity." Coach Colin McSharar said. "This first-ever team has been working their tails off all fall and spring. We have great leadership, great talent, and we have the right young women here to help build this program."
During the 2018 season, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) and the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) continued the partnership that established the Ohio River Lacrosse Conference (ORLC). For the 2019 season, the PAC separated, adopting lacrosse within its own conference. The HCAC held onto the ORLC name along with its automatic qualifier and changed the name to the HCLC. Thomas More University is an affiliate member of the HCLC. Anderson joins the HCLC as its seventh member.
Last season, Transylvania University swept the ORLC regular-season and conference tournament titles. Transylvania then advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
In the HCLC coaches preseason poll, Transylvania was tabbed the conference favorite after receiving 69 points and six first-place votes. Hanover College was picked second with 64 points and one first-place vote. Mount St. Joseph University (50) was selected third and picked to finish ahead of Franklin College (49), Earlham College (47), Anderson (34) and Thomas More (30), which rounds out the poll.
The top four teams in the conference qualify for the HCLC Tournament and the Ravens look to be in the running.
"A realistic goal is to be in the conference tourney at the end of the season. A lot of programs in our conference are going through transition periods. We're focused and we are getting better every practice. We'll be a fun team to watch with each passing game."
Though the program is in its infancy, Anderson has already developed a strong culture and brought in the talent necessary to be competitive.
"We have two distinct strengths that stand out. One is the culture of the team. Though we do have a lot of women on the roster whom have never played the sport before, those women are all in on immersing themselves in the sport. They practice with a purpose and improve daily. We also have a great group of young women who have played the sport who are doing their part in getting newer players up to speed.
"The second strength alludes to the first. Of those young women who played in high school, all of them are phenomenal talents. I think you'll see a few of them up for all-conference as well as being statistical leaders in the conference."
Mallory Housman (Evansville, Ind./Memorial), the program's first-ever commit, looks to make an early impact on the program. The freshman from Evansville will compete as a defender and a midfielder.
"Mallory has a tall presence on the field and is a very strong two-way player."
Kaitlyn Lawson (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) is a freshman defender from Newburgh that expects to make a strong difference on defense.
"Kaitlyn has really stepped up as a vocal leader and is a high-quality defensive player."
Samantha Huber (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian) joined the Ravens out of St. Louis. In addition to make an impact as a midfielder, Huber will also contribute as a defender.
"Samantha committed to us about as late as possible, but she's been a blessing to our program. She, too, is a talented two-way player, but has been unstoppable on the offensive end."
Monmouth College (1-0) is in its third year with program and finished with a 2-14 record in 2018. In her third year as head coach, the Fighting Scots are led by Elizabeth Demara.
"I've actually known Coach Demara for several years; we've become good friends. She has a similar fire for the growing the game that I do, and we regularly bounce ideas off of each other. Monmouth is entering their third year as a program. I expect them to be deep and experienced. This Saturday, I think you'll see a lot of similarities between the two teams in sets, styles, and aggression."
Kara-Jade Gordon returns to the Fighting Scots for her junior season after receiving all-Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference (MWLC) honors in both of her season. She was selected to the All-MWLC First Team as a sophomore and named to the All-MWLC Second Team as a freshman. Gordon led Monmouth in goals (62), assists (10), points (72), ground balls (60) and caused turnovers (30) as a sophomore. She also topped the team in goals (50), points (56), ground balls (65) and caused turnovers (33) as a freshman.
Amanda Green contributed 18 points off 14 goals and four assists last season. She also notched 26 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. Lexi Tibbs also scored 18 points off 12 goals and six assists. Aspen Chadderon collected 35 ground balls last season. Arianna Valero picked up 28 ground balls and forced 11 turnovers. Monmouth returns 76.4 percent of its starts from last season.
The Ravens expect to emphasize setting up the program for success in the future.
"The team already has bought into the idea of process over product. I have no doubt we'll keep that mindset all season. The motto of my high school alma mater Bishop Chatard is 'Festina Lente,' which translates to 'make haste, slowly.' It's an oxymoron, but it's true. We know that this year will be a year of growth and development, but we have positive momentum moving forward. We already have a talented and large 2019 recruiting class coming in. I think that by the time that this first class graduates, they'll look back on what they accomplished here, and be proud to call themselves Anderson University Ravens."
Anderson expects to face the adversity of starting a new program, but enable itself to lay the foundation of the program for the future.
"There are a lot of growing pains and limitations you have when it comes to having your first-ever season, but with great difficulty comes great opportunity." Coach Colin McSharar said. "This first-ever team has been working their tails off all fall and spring. We have great leadership, great talent, and we have the right young women here to help build this program."
During the 2018 season, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) and the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) continued the partnership that established the Ohio River Lacrosse Conference (ORLC). For the 2019 season, the PAC separated, adopting lacrosse within its own conference. The HCAC held onto the ORLC name along with its automatic qualifier and changed the name to the HCLC. Thomas More University is an affiliate member of the HCLC. Anderson joins the HCLC as its seventh member.
Last season, Transylvania University swept the ORLC regular-season and conference tournament titles. Transylvania then advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
In the HCLC coaches preseason poll, Transylvania was tabbed the conference favorite after receiving 69 points and six first-place votes. Hanover College was picked second with 64 points and one first-place vote. Mount St. Joseph University (50) was selected third and picked to finish ahead of Franklin College (49), Earlham College (47), Anderson (34) and Thomas More (30), which rounds out the poll.
The top four teams in the conference qualify for the HCLC Tournament and the Ravens look to be in the running.
"A realistic goal is to be in the conference tourney at the end of the season. A lot of programs in our conference are going through transition periods. We're focused and we are getting better every practice. We'll be a fun team to watch with each passing game."
Though the program is in its infancy, Anderson has already developed a strong culture and brought in the talent necessary to be competitive.
"We have two distinct strengths that stand out. One is the culture of the team. Though we do have a lot of women on the roster whom have never played the sport before, those women are all in on immersing themselves in the sport. They practice with a purpose and improve daily. We also have a great group of young women who have played the sport who are doing their part in getting newer players up to speed.
"The second strength alludes to the first. Of those young women who played in high school, all of them are phenomenal talents. I think you'll see a few of them up for all-conference as well as being statistical leaders in the conference."
Mallory Housman (Evansville, Ind./Memorial), the program's first-ever commit, looks to make an early impact on the program. The freshman from Evansville will compete as a defender and a midfielder.
"Mallory has a tall presence on the field and is a very strong two-way player."
Kaitlyn Lawson (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) is a freshman defender from Newburgh that expects to make a strong difference on defense.
"Kaitlyn has really stepped up as a vocal leader and is a high-quality defensive player."
Samantha Huber (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian) joined the Ravens out of St. Louis. In addition to make an impact as a midfielder, Huber will also contribute as a defender.
"Samantha committed to us about as late as possible, but she's been a blessing to our program. She, too, is a talented two-way player, but has been unstoppable on the offensive end."
Monmouth College (1-0) is in its third year with program and finished with a 2-14 record in 2018. In her third year as head coach, the Fighting Scots are led by Elizabeth Demara.
"I've actually known Coach Demara for several years; we've become good friends. She has a similar fire for the growing the game that I do, and we regularly bounce ideas off of each other. Monmouth is entering their third year as a program. I expect them to be deep and experienced. This Saturday, I think you'll see a lot of similarities between the two teams in sets, styles, and aggression."
Kara-Jade Gordon returns to the Fighting Scots for her junior season after receiving all-Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference (MWLC) honors in both of her season. She was selected to the All-MWLC First Team as a sophomore and named to the All-MWLC Second Team as a freshman. Gordon led Monmouth in goals (62), assists (10), points (72), ground balls (60) and caused turnovers (30) as a sophomore. She also topped the team in goals (50), points (56), ground balls (65) and caused turnovers (33) as a freshman.
Amanda Green contributed 18 points off 14 goals and four assists last season. She also notched 26 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. Lexi Tibbs also scored 18 points off 12 goals and six assists. Aspen Chadderon collected 35 ground balls last season. Arianna Valero picked up 28 ground balls and forced 11 turnovers. Monmouth returns 76.4 percent of its starts from last season.
The Ravens expect to emphasize setting up the program for success in the future.
"The team already has bought into the idea of process over product. I have no doubt we'll keep that mindset all season. The motto of my high school alma mater Bishop Chatard is 'Festina Lente,' which translates to 'make haste, slowly.' It's an oxymoron, but it's true. We know that this year will be a year of growth and development, but we have positive momentum moving forward. We already have a talented and large 2019 recruiting class coming in. I think that by the time that this first class graduates, they'll look back on what they accomplished here, and be proud to call themselves Anderson University Ravens."
