Women's lax wins first conference championship
Phil Shore
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Sports
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Once again, they were hosting conference rival Norwich University in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship game after defeating them earlier in the regular season.
Last season, Emerson was defeated in the finals, 10-8. Unlike last year, however, the top-seeded Lions beat the Cadets by a score of 18-9 and captured the school's first ever GNAC women's lacrosse title.
"All season long we prepared for that moment, and with all of the hard work and dedication we put in, we deserved it," said sophomore co-captain Maeghan Ross. "We had a perfect season in our conference and I couldn't ask for anything more. As a team we got closer and are really there for one another, and to be on a team and know that you are supported is an amazing feeling."
Preparing for the game, the Lions left no stone unturned. The team used two new practice players-co-head coaches Gail Decker-Wittman and Katie Shannon-to work on defending Norwich's top players.
"Both [Shannon] and I played with and against the girls for all the practices leading up to the championship game. We basically played seven vs. seven solidly for each practice trying different scenarios that we knew Norwich was going to try," said Decker-Wittman. "Therefore when the girls met Norwich in the championship they knew exactly how to defend each of the main attackers on Norwich and they did a fantastic job doing that in the championship game."
Unlike the April 18 matchup where Emerson had to climb back from a 9-5 halftime deficit, the Lions jumped out on top 3-0 and never looked back. Seven different players scored en route to the win. Ross credited the turnaround to better focus and intensity from the very beginning of the game.
"Within the first five minutes we were up by five and it felt like we were playing a different team. Norwich was just mentally not taking it to us like we were taking it to them," said Ross, a journalism major. "We wanted it and we were not going to back down. As we continued to make connections and shut them down on the defensive end our confidence grew. We knew we could beat this team."
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