The North Central women’s lacrosse team has made significant progress throughout the 2015 campaign, but that doesn’t mean that it’s fully satisfied with what they’ve accomplished thus far.
Graduate Assistant Coach Hannah Sopeth knows that, while there are many bright spots in this year’s lineup, there’s always room for growth.
“I think that our greatest strength is our transitional passing down the field,” said Sopeth. “The girls are very good at finding each other in transition and moving the ball smoothly down the field. One thing that we could improve on for the rest of this season, as well as for next year, would have to be not getting down on ourselves or losing our cool once when we get scored on. I think that the girls are really hard on themselves. They need to turn it around after they get scored on and use it as motivation to attack even harder on the next play.”
The key contributions game-in and game-out, head coach Jenni Kapanen doesn’t put any one player above the rest. They’ve adopted a team-first game that is vital to their overall success on the field.
“We don’t really view anyone as a star,” said Kapanen. “What’s neat is that everyone understands that every role matters, and everyone has a chance to be a star at different times of a game and season. Whether it’s picking up one ground ball, bringing water out to the team during timeouts, scoring a goal or throwing your body in the way of a shot to make a save, every player and positive act matters.”
Although they may not have the experience that some of the other teams in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin possess, Sopeth is happy with what she’s seen from her players.
“We’ve had our ups and downs; but overall, we’ve done a very good job considering how young our team is. They’ve grown to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to get the job done,” she said. “I’m excited to see how much they grow for next season, considering the fact that we aren’t losing anyone because we don’t have any seniors this year.”
As far as the rest of this season goes, Kapanen believes her team can reach greater heights, as long as they’re prepared to go to even greater lengths to succeed.
“We need to improve as a team, while continuing to enjoy the process and embrace the challenges,” she said. “I don’t think we’ve reached our potential yet, but only the women can decide for themselves how far they can go. In the end, it’s just a mindset.”
That very same mindset is one that Sopeth feels the girls possess.
“I think they have a really strong worth ethic, and they’re willing to do whatever they can to win,” she said. “They hate to lose, and I think that’s motivation enough to continue pushing each other.”
The Cardinals finished the regular season with an overall record of 10-5. That number shows a definite sign of progress in the right direction from their 9-6 record last year. They also have dramatically improved their play on the road as well. Away from home, they finished 8-1 on the season, which is a drastic improvement off of last year’s 3-5 record.
“Our goal is to be in the conference final,” said Kapanen. “Anything beyond that will take a lot of stars to line up, but we like to push our limits. What’s awesome about sports is that there’s always a chance, and that’s why we do this.”
