Girls Lacrosse Head Into Spring Season Ranked No.1 in Preseason Poll

Erin Alburtus, Staff
February 29, 2012
Filed under Sports

The Women’s lacrosse team will head into the spring season as a favorite to win the Landmark Conference Tournament after having won their tournament four seasons in a row. Early this week, they were voted first in the Landmark Conference preseason poll.
The team was ranked number 11 in the IWLCA or Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association preseason poll and received 177 points. No. 12 is Stevens Institute of Technology with 161 points. Gettysburg College is at the top of the IWLCA with 396 points, including 17 first place votes. The College of New Jersey follows with 365. Cortland, Bowdoin, Franklin & Marshall, and Salisbury are next in the preseason poll lineup. Catholic will play seven of the teams ranked in the preseason poll, including Gettysburg in April and Salisbury in their second game of the season on March 3rd.
CUA ended the Spring 2011 season with a 15-4 record. They had a 4-0 shutout in the Landmark Conference regular season. It was also the fourth straight season the cards won an NCAA tournament game.
In September of last year, six members of the Catholic University’s lacrosse team were named to the Division III IWLCA Academic Honor Roll. CUA’s selections included Lauren Bernstein, Kate Robinson, Mary Robinson, Christy Sisko, Mary Swarthout, and Mallory Vogel. Bernstein, Robinson, Swarthout, and Vogel are seniors on the 2012 roster.
Swarthout will lead the team, after earning the title of First Team All-American in 2011 and scoring an impressive 65 goals last season. Others to look out for include sophomore Megan Gormley, and seniors Meghan Murray, and Gabby Sena, who made All-Conference last season.
“Recently we read a book about positive energy, and it is this along with our speed and talent on the field this year we really feel holds something special,” said sophomore Gretchen Wade.
“Team chemistry is really great and we are all focused with the same end goal of winning the Landmark Conference again as well as the NCAA tournament. This is our year to put CUA women’s lacrosse in the spotlight as a unified, intense powerhouse of athletes,” she said.
Meghan McDonogh enters her sixth season as head coach for the girls while also serving as the assistant athletic director. Under her coaching, the team has grasped four Landmark Conference championships, and lost just one. McDonogh and her staff were named as the 2011 Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the year. The staff was also awarded this name in 2008.
The Cards season began on Wednesday. Their first game is at home against Mary Washington University, who were ranked 17th in the IWLCA preseason poll. The Cardinals dropped their first game of the season, 14-10. Leading scorers included Swarthout, Robinson, and Katie Miller with two goals each. Goalkeeper Gab Sena had four saves, and Swarthout led the team in groundballs with five. The Cardinals led the first half 7-5, but lost control of the game in the second, losing 14-10.
The girls will also be participating in a tournament over spring break. The games take place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where they will face SUNYIT and Misericordia University on Saturday, March 6th at 10am and 2pm.