Last year, the Queens College Women’s Lacrosse team entered the 2014 season with only six girls on its roster, mostly containing players from other various sports.
In his first season, head coach Todd Kaiser was faced with the obstacle of finding girls to fill the team, or he would’ve been forced to cancel the season.
“I knew that the program was in a little bit of a hole coming in and it was going to take [immediate] rebuilding,” Kaiser said. “I needed to get kids, and get this program back on its feet.”
Kaiser managed to compose a team of 11 lacrosse players, three soccer players, two track runners, and two basketball players. Having an inexperienced team made it difficult to have a successful season.
“It’s hard playing with people who don’t know lacrosse, and you’re losing games but we did the best that we could,” Carly Chierico, a junior midfielder on the team, said.
Chierico has been with the program since its first year and has experienced its ups and downs throughout her three years.
“Todd has been the change for the program and I’m so happy we now have girls that can play this year. We’re working hard not only for ourselves, but for Todd as well,” Chierico said.
Kaiser went out on a recruiting spree, and managed to fill a full 16-person roster of girls from lacrosse programs throughout the state, including nine returners. The hopes for the success of the program go beyond the returners, and lies heavily on the new names on the team.
“I want [our] team to be the one that sets the tone and expectations for QC lacrosse for the future,” junior goalie, Krista Ancona, a transfer, said.
QC is the third institution Ancona has been enrolled in, and the dramatic change has been positive for her. The team prides itself on their strong chemistry, their ability to communicate with each other and the time they spend with each other.
“I have never been on a team where every single person gets along with one another,” Ancona said. “When people from home ask me how school is, my answer every time is, ‘I love it.’”
Due to weather conditions, the Knights have spent all of their practice time indoors, except for a Saturday practice at Mitchell Field on Long Island. The first two games scheduled for the Knights were postponed due to the heavy snowstorms.
“It sucks that [they] were postponed, but it also gives us more time to prepare for our other games and better ourselves,” sophomore attacker Angela Acevedo said.
The Knights, along with the other outdoor sports, have been forced to share gym space for practice. The differences between the hardwood floor and the field have not only made it hard to practice plays, but have even provoked injury.
“A lot of our girls have shin, ankle, and knee injuries and the condition of the floors hasn’t helped,” Acevedo said.
The team has no intention of letting the weather, or anything else, get in their way this season.
“We’re all so determined and on the same page to win, and if we’re all on the same page, then we can’t lose,” Ancona said.
The Knights’ next game is scheduled for March 14 against Bridgeport.
