Season Update!



After Saturday’s conference opener against Utica, we now stand halfway through our 16 game season with a record of 4-4. Our performance versus Utica was our strongest so far this season, with hopes of only getting better as we continue with our league play as well as visiting Marywood and hosting cross-town rival SUNY Oneonta in non-conference play. Our team’s play thus far showed glimpses of our potential as well as exploiting areas of concern. With seven freshmen on the team, nerves played a major factor in our first few games. We played a little bit with the line-up each game in order to find the proper mix of players, designed and redesigned plays, broke down film to show our strengths and weaknesses, and planned practices to fix little reoccurring issues. Although 4-4 is likely not as great of a record as many of us had hoped for, we are fortunate enough to have played games when we were up, down, and close games until the end. The experience these games have given our relatively young team is invaluable as we now look to fix the issues exploited so early in the season as we continue with our league play.

Although our wins and losses have all been great team efforts, a few of our season’s highlights so far feature key individual performances. Lisa Littleton, a freshman midfielder from Yorktown, NY, wasted no time making an impact as she was named Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week following her first ever collegiate game against Mt. St. Mary, recording 3 goals, 1 assist, 3 ground balls, 2 draw controls and 2 caused turnovers. Even more crucial than her scoring, Lisa’s draw controls helped our team regain momentum at a pivotal point in the game.

Brittany LaVaute, a senior midfielder from Skaneateles, NY, joined an elite list within the Hartwick Lacrosse family as she scored her 100^th career point in our home game against Wells. Britt finished the game with 4 goals, 1 assist, 4 draw controls, 1 ground ball and 1 caused turnover, displaying her well-rounded play throughout the field. Her fourth goal of the game, assisted by Carly Newman, put her over the century mark. Britt is the first Hartwick Women’s Lacrosse to accomplish such a feat in her career since 2006. LaVaute was named “Hawk of the Week” by the Hartwick athletic department for her accomplishment.

Freshman Goalie Stephanie Luce, from Saratoga Springs, NY, garnered Empire 8 Goalie of the Week honors following her effort in our win versus Wells. Steph saved 10 of the 15 shots on cage she faced for a save percentage of .667. She has started every game so far this season and has been crucial for our defense and transitional game. In addition to her saving ability, Steph leads the team in groundballs at this point in the season.

This season has featured a great balance of talent at all positions and although Lisa, Britt and Steph were recognized for their efforts, we have seen stellar play and performances in various games and positions. Looking forward, we have reached a pivotal juncture in our schedule as we take on Empire 8 foes Alfred and Elmira this weekend. We hope to fix the little things that have limited our success thus far this season and use the valuable game experience we have gained as we move into the second half of our games.

Thank you to all of our fans for your continued support and we hope to see you at a game soon!