For the second time in as many years the NDC Woman's Lacrosse team hosted and won the MEC Lacrosse title. The Falcons were a 22-0 winner over Davis&Elkins in the semifinals before holding off Frostburg State 17-15 in the Championship game. They defeated the Bobcats for the title for the second straight year.
Head Coach Ben Morhac had this to say about how he saw his team grow:
"This year the roster had 12 or 13 freshman on it which is crazy to think considering we only had a roster of 28. It helps when you have returners that understand the coaching staff and their expectations. The upperclassmen worked hard over the summer to compete at a high level and lead by example what needs to be done to be a champion. That and some key upperclassmen transfers combined to make one heck of an upperclassmen group. Again, this was a special group and luckily they got to leave the program as champions. My hope is that they know how much they meant to the foundation of this program and they can look back and be proud of everything they helped build."
Freshman midfielder Lexington Carson from Staten Island, New York had a solid freshman campaign scoring 13 goals and dishing out five assists as she played in 14 games, getting four starts. She knew this was a special group as soon as she started practicing with them. This is what she had to say:
"Being a freshman it was a little nerve wracking at the beginning. Especially since I was not here the prior season and didn't win the first championship. Even though I felt this way the team was extremely welcoming and I have made friends that I will have for the rest of my life. I knew I had to work really hard since I felt some pressure being on a team that is known to win championships."
Teammate and fellow midfielder Alicyn Loberg, the junior from Snohomish, Washington talked talked about Carson: "Lexington is an amazing player on the field. She came into every game giving 110 percent all the time and although she was a freshman you could never tell by the way she played. I think everyone was inspired by the level of composure and confidence the freshman were able to radiate on the field."
Emileigh Scott was the tournament's most outstanding player and had a historic season. She was third in all of NCAA D2 in draw controls and added 54 goals and seven assists on the season. In addition she was the first player in NDC lacrosse history to be named to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Senior All Star Team (which consists of Division I,II, and III All Stars.) The graduate student who played attack, from Ellicott City, Maryland got praise from Loberg as well:
"Emileigh is an amazing draw player. Her winning the draw took a lot of pressure off the team especially defensively."
Senior Ebony Reddick from Pottstown, Pa. who played attack had a very good senior year. She scored 31 goals and dished out 19 assists after coming back from knee surgery. She played 13 games while starting 10. She talked about Scott and Loberg winning the draw so many times this season:
"Both Ali and Emileigh contributed a lot to the team and without them we would not be where we are today. Everyone has a role on our team and that is how we became champions, Emileigh was a fun player to with. I was able to witness first hand her strong field IQ. She is a very selfless player and was really determined."
Scott talked about what a help Graduate Assistant Amanda Paino was to her:
"Coach P was definitely a help to me personally because she was able to really understand my perspective. She helped with the transition of passing on the knowledge of attending a new school for a year while being a graduate student as well. She helped prepare me for my new role of being a graduate assistant and explained what will be expected of me."
Reddick talked about Loberg who played and started all 15 games:
"Ali is a very strong player and fights until there is no time left. She does not allow players to defeat her because of her size and goes after everything."
Charlotte Vari, a sophomore who plays attack from Spring Hill, Florida was another important underclassmen like Carson as evidenced by playing 15 games and starting 13. She had 23 goals and 15 assists on the season. Carson talked about that:
"I look up to Charlotte in many ways. She is a phenomenal teammate, a great leader, and an even better friend. To work alongside her and also score a few goals against Frostburg was a great memory of mine. As soon as I started practicing and training with this group of girls I knew we had what it took to win the MEC Championship. There was no specific moment that I realized this, but I did notice when things were not going according to plan we all worked together which helped us win the title in the end."
Morhac agreed:
"My staff knew we had what it took in fall ball. Although we were young this is the most athletic group we have ever had and we knew between the young athleticism and veteran experience, we could pull off back to back titles. I think we had more faith in them then they had in themselves. The trick was getting them to understand that they were a special group that could achieve greatness."
Scott gave her thoughts:
"I was always confident in my team that we would be able to win an MEC Title when we got to conference play. We had several hard games out of conference and I knew that we had a competitive mentality and wanted to win another title. After beating Frostburg in the first meeting (22-8 in the regular season) I knew that our team was ready to work together to win another MEC Title. It felt great to win MVP of the tournament and the conference title because all I wanted to do was help my team win the conference title. I just wanted to win that title with my team by working hard together and the MVP was just a bonus."
Reddick talked motivation:
"The first day we had meetings this season everyone was so excited to see the rings we won the year before. Everyone had that championship mentality from day one and was ready to get after the rest of the MEC. What made this one bittersweet was that it was my last game after four years of lacrosse at NDC."
Vari told me this team was very young this year and that meant they would have to step up while they were playing. This is how she put it: They took the role seriously and handled it really well. "The upperclassmen have this calm tone while playing. They don't rush when we need in a goal in order to get a great shot off. With that when you have the ball it's easy to set up and trust one another. At the end of the day it was a great game in the finals and just being able to win over this team (Frostburg) is probably our favorite win of the whole season. Looking into the future for next season I am so excited to see what all the incoming players can bring to the table, and I hope that we can go all the way again."
Loberg talked about when she knew:
"I think as a team our specific moment we knew we had what it takes to win this conference championship was after our first meeting with Frostburg. All the people who came in and stayed from last year knew that Frostburg was the team to beat based on last year's win against them in the championship game. After our first win against them we were able to just start fitting every little piece together during our practices and games leading up to the championship."
Loberg explained to me the challenges of playing Frostburg:
"The hardest part of playing them the third time this season (winning 2 of 3) was figuring out the things that did not work. We were able to point out both on offense and defense what we needed to do to be successful and tried to just follow our game plan moving onto the next play each time there was a breakdown. Going back to the basics was the most important thing that was brought into the game, and we did just that."
Vari talked about pressure: "There was definitely pressure to come out and win the title because every team wants to beat the defending conference champs. We knew we had to win both games and had the ability to do so. I think we handled the pressure very well, we stayed composed for most of the game. We knew we had to get the ball and play our game not theirs!!
Scott agreed:
"I think we handled that pressure well by just focusing on what was in our control. We made sure to focus on one game at a time and pulled through with the title win by working together as a team."
Carson told me that the closeness and bond of this team is great. "I have met such amazing people from all over the country. Over the year I would consider this group of girls to be my home away from home."
She then talked about what it was like to win the title this season:
"To win a championship is really sick , but also to be a part of the reason why is even better."
Loberg compared the two titles:
"This championship was just as special as last year. Last year was the program's first ever conference championship and now this year winning it again is surreal. It is hard to win a championship back to back and especially playing the same team both times. We were more than prepared for everything their team tried to throw our way."
Scott talked about the upperclassmen:
"I feel like the upperclassmen on this team definitely provided great leadership and a welcoming atmosphere for the new people on the team. As upperclassmen, we really tried to help the team reach our full potential because it is a very talented team. The upperclassmen knew that we had the potential to win a title, but it couldn't be everyone for themselves it had to come from the team as a whole. We knew it was going to be a hard fight playing against Frostburg again in the title game. Both teams wanted it badly, but I feel that our team came together as a whole in order to grasp the victory."
Morhac talked about the challenges the team had to overcome and how the titles were similar yet different:
"I don't know if I would say that this one was sweeter than the first one. They are both special in their own way. Last year we had a lot of adversity to get through with COVID testing, isolations, a shortened season, major injuries and a smaller roster. This year we still had adversity but it was more so injuries, the weather, and getting the team to click. I would never put one over a different one. They were two very different teams that both achieved great things that has made the culture of NDC lacrosse one of winning."
Scott concurred:
"There were some challenges that we had to overcome over the course of the season, but I feel like it has really brought together the closeness of this group as a whole. I only played at Notre Dame for the one year, but from the very first day, people were welcoming. My teammates and coaches made sure to make new people feel included. Being close makes you want to fight for the people next to you, on and off the field, which helped us work together to win the conference title."
Morhac told me the biggest improvement of the team as the season went on was cohesion.
"When you have some returners people recovering from major surgeries, transfers, and freshman it is hard to get the team on the same page. Our team is from all over the country which is great but also presents lacrosse IQ challenges. As the season progressed they were willing to ask questions to be better and both the coaching staff and players stepped up to get everyone on the same page. We had two drastically different teams that took different approaches to get them to the same end result. The coaching staff had to adapt, but players had to adapt as well. Each year the team is different and has to find the strengths in each other to achieve a common goal. As a program we have had to go through more than most people know. I am beyond proud of how both teams responded to the challenges that they were both presented."
Carson gave the final thought:
"Now that I know what being a college athlete is (for the most part) I am extremely excited for the next upcoming season. Even though we won a championship and there is going to be pressure, I still think the entire team will bring everyone together again. This group of girls is extremely confident in themselves and their teammates and so am I!!"
Comments