Already halfway through their season, the NCC women’s lacrosse team is looking to further cement themselves in the CCIW conference. With a big roster filled with upperclassmen with experience and newcomers with tenacity, the Cards are eager to make some noise across the CCIW landscape as the season progresses. The men’s lacrosse team is coming off a big season themselves, and the women are looking to follow suit this year.
New horizons
After a 5-12 season which saw them finishing one win away from a CCIW tournament appearance, the Cards are looking for a fresh start. A new season like this one will certainly give them that. The team has a lot of learning to do under second-year head coach Vasiliki Barakos-Berkman, but the team is close to competing with the top guns of the conference.
“This year’s team is really just working on lighting that fire under us for all four quarters and continue to develop trust within our offense and defense,” said midfielder Julia Clark, ‘24. “This team has experienced a lot of changes, but this year we are really trying to just focus on ourselves and push full speed ahead.”
These changes come in the form of nine newcomers. All of them with the talent and heart to compete at the college level. One of these new players is Rachel Lawrence, ‘27, an attacker who’s already made an impact on the field.
“The difference between high school and college lacrosse is mainly the pace of the game and the skill level,” Lawrence said. “I’m also trying to expand on my lacrosse skills and knowledge, and I feel like my coaches here have been taking both of those and have been pushing it to the next level.”
The returners, along with Clark, have shown great improvements during the preseason that they look to put on display. They look to Annelise Oster, ‘25, for her continued commitment to the game as a team captain even coming off a significant injury. Lucy Culig, ‘25, has also stepped up on both sides of the ball after leading the team in draw controls with 45 last season. Abby MacKenzie, ‘25, has also caught Berkman’s eye. She has shown growth after leading the team in assists and being second in goals with 28 last season.
Season so far and what’s ahead
These recent changes have paid off. The Cardinals are now 5-3. They have won four of their last five games, including wins against Pacific, Beloit and Illinois Institute of Technology. The women’s lacrosse team has outscored their opponents 98-78 with MacKenzie leading the team with 29 goals. With this continued pace, the Cardinals could very well make it to the CCIW tournament. They could have a record above .500 for the first time since 2020.
“Many incredible players set the standard for this program early on,” Clark said, talking about how much the program has evolved since she arrived in 2020, “and we are really grateful to have so many knowledgeable coaches that truly love the game to help us continue that legacy.”
The Cardinals will begin conference play April 6 against Augustana. They will be looking to continue the positive momentum they’ve had over the past few games. The team certainly believes that they can do it.
“The past games that we’ve been playing have shown the team what we need to improve on or keep doing in order to be successful during conference play,” Lawrence said, “I’m excited to see how far we go!”
