The women’s lacrosse team begins its season Feb. 25, having spent the last few months working on the fundamentals of the game. Last season, the ‘Phins only lost to Adelphi, and are hoping to secure a win over them this spring. In a recent coach’s poll, Le Moyne and Adelphi are both tied for the first place ranking in the Northeast-10 division.  Having made it to the NCAA semifinals last season, the team is ready to compete again for the championship this year.

Head coach Beth Hewitt said was pleased with how the ‘Phins ended last season.

“I felt that last year was a great starting point for us. Entering into Division II was a pretty big adjustment for us being that we had never played any of these opponents,” Hewitt said. “Overall I was fairly happy with how the season went but obviously we are always looking to get better.”

Last season in the semifinals, Le Moyne lost a close game to Adelphi  13-18, but look to secure a win at the championships this year having a year of experience playing at the Division II level from Division I.

“During this off-season we have been getting back to the fundamentals of our game, working on our speed, fitness and stickwork,” Hewitt said. “We have eight freshmen on the team this year so we have been spending a lot of time working to help them make the adjustment to the college game. Obviously it is a huge transition going from high school to college but I think that they have the ability to really contribute this year.”

In addition to the eight freshman recruits for the upcoming season, the team includes 13 returning letter winners.

“As for the returners, they know that we fell short of our goal last year so they are working extremely hard to improve and become more of a team,” Hewitt said.

Of the returning players, the ‘Phins have Senior All-American Attacker Brittany Brigandi, who made a program best goal score of 87 times over last year, and was also The Dolphin’s Athlete of the Year for women’s sports. Additionally, junior attacker Brenna Bauer, who scored a total of 56 points and 30 goals for the team, and defense all-region honoree Molly Maroney, also a junior, return for this season. Senior goalkeeper Kelly Fucillo also returns on the defense squad. Fucillo has admirably started all 53 games for Le Moyne over the last three years.

The biggest competition for the Dolphins this spring will undoubtedly be to Adelphi, who was their only registered loss last year.

“Obviously we couldn’t get past them last year so until we are able to beat them they will be our biggest competitor,” Hewitt said.

For this season, the team is looking for another trip to the NE-10 Championships, including the National Championships as well.

“As for this year we are just looking to improve as a team.  Obviously there are things that we needed to get better on from last year, so that is our focus moving forward,” said Hewitt, who led the team to a program record of 18 wins over last year.

With a stellar squad and strong coaching staff, the Le Moyne Dolphins will certainly be the team to beat this spring.

“I’m really excited about this upcoming season!” senior Brittany Brigandi said. “Things are looking great for us. Each and every one of us has been working hard during and outside of practice. We’ve set some big goals and plan on achieving them by the end of the season! GO ‘PHINS!”.

The first game of the season will be Saturday, Feb. 25, at home, where the ‘Phins will face Notre Dame at 3 p.m.