Starting from Scratch: Lacrosse 2009
Fresh faces abound on the 2009 Philadelphia University women's lacrosse team as new head coach George Chis-Luca takes the reins for the inaugural season of women's lacrosse in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC).
The Lady Rams (12-5, 2-4 ECC last season) have been selected as the #1 team in the CACC Lacrosse Preseason Poll in their first year in the league.
"We're a young team, and this is a brand new sport for the conference- so our squad will be building confidence as the season goes along," said Chis-Luca.
A former men's lacrosse coach, Chis-Luca makes it clear that although this is his first year as a college coach, he is well versed in the game of lacrosse.
"The biggest coaching adjustment will be taking the strategies I've used for my men's teams and incorporating them into the women's game," said Chis-Luca. "Women's lacrosse is more of a finesse sport, so our offense will be created around finesse plays."
The Lady Rams have three captains this year: senior defender Amanda Harding (Moorestown, NJ), senior Kathryn Sheehan (Media, PA) and junior attacker Lauren Woodie (Monmouth Beach, NJ).
Offensively, the Lady Rams will be led by junior midfielder Kathleen Maurer (Rochester, NY) who had 31 goals last season- the most of any returner. Joining her will be Woodie (17 starts/3 G/2 A/19 GB) and sophomore Michelle O'Hanlon (Springfield, PA)-who saw action in every game last season (17 games/15 G/ 7 A). Rounding out the midfield will be sophomore Danielle Coffaro (Webster, NY) who played in 15 contests and added three goals and an assist.
Sheehan (17 starts/24 GB) anchors the PhilaU defense, joined by Harding (16 starts/2 goals/29 GB).
In goal for the Lady Rams will be junior keepers Katherine Sullivan (Mt. Laurel, NJ) and Kelly Staerk (Edgewater Park, NJ). Sullivan posted a 4-1 records last season, with a .518 save percentage, while Staerk went 8-4 overall with 120 stops.
Six freshmen join the Lady Ram lineup this year, and Coach Chis-Luca will be looking to two of these rookies to make an impact immediately: two-time high school Academic All-American midfielder Caribeth Shappell (Lancaster, PA) and high school All-Catholic League attacker Taylor Peltzer (Holland, PA).
Coach Chis-Luca will incorporate a new philosophy onto the field this year, encouraging the student-athletes to bring their ideas to the table.
"I want the ladies to be a part of creating our offensive and defensive philosophies," said Chis-Luca.
Team goals for the new season include being more aggressive in order to keep the possession as much as possible. Coach Chis-Luca calls this strategy "reckless abandonment."
"There are no excuses this year, and the girls know that," said Chis-Luca. "Teams that win are teams with heart, and that's what our team is all about."
