Last season, the women’s lacrosse team beat their rivals Adelphi in regular season play, unfortunately losing to them by one point in the Northeast-10 Championship game. The ‘Phins overcame this tough loss to make it into the semifinals of the NCAA championships. After losing two key starters last year, Brittany Brigandi and Kelly Fucillo, the women’s team has prepared for the upcoming season, and working to stay on top this season. Beth Hewitt enters into her fourth season as head coach, reflecting upon the exciting season to come.

1. What were your feelings on the end of last year’s season?

We had mixed feelings about last year’s season. We were really happy to win the NE-10 regular season championship as that is one of our goals every year, but we still felt we had more to accomplish. We fell short in the NE-10 tournament, as well as in the NCAA tournament in Kentucky, and we still feel like we have more to accomplish.

2. What have you mainly been working on with the team in the off-season?

We are really focusing on our fundamentals and working to become a cohesive unit. We believe we have some great talent on this team, but with so many new players we are still learning how to play with one another. Coming together as a group takes time, but that is why we work so hard in the off-season and during pre-season to know that all of our preparation is going to pay off.

3. What are the new recruits like? Returning players?

We have 14 new players on this team. They are all extremely talented lacrosse players, but as freshmen there is still a lot for them to learn about the college game. We have really made it a focus of ours to help them get adjusted to the speed of lacrosse at the college level.

As for our returning players we have a really great core group coming back. They are all working really hard to improve their own games while also trying to push the freshmen to the next level.  We have a number of returning players that have a lot of experience so we are really excited to see how they perform on the field this year.

4. What are your goals for the team this year?

Our only goal for this year is to work hard each day to become a cohesive group. If we are successful in doing that each and every day then we know we will have a shot at post-season play.

5. Who looks to be the toughest competition this season?

Our toughest competition this year is still Adelphi. We were able to beat them in the regular season last year but did not finish the job in the playoffs. We have a great rivalry with them so each time we play it is always a great match up.

The women’s team will first face Roberts Wesleyan home on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 11 a.m.