Haiden Widener, Campus Carrier Sports Editor
Women’s lacrosse is 2-0 in Valhalla this season after flying past Hendrix and Otterbein. The team is now 3-3 overall.
In their first home conference match-up against Hendrix College on Feb. 25, the Vikings won 17-5. Senior Angelica Miller and freshman Claire Voltarel each scored four goals, contributing to the blow out.
“Saturday, we played really well,” Head Coach Shaun Williamson said. “We made some mistakes, but you’re always going to have a couple of those.”
Even though they are still working out some flaws, the players are aware of their offensive strengths as well.
“We had seven different girls score goals (against Hendrix),” senior Angelica Miller said. “So we’re playing as a whole team and relying on each other a lot more.”
They also played Otterbein University at home on Feb. 28 for their Pack the House event, beating them 15-8 in another complete team effort.
“We dug down and figured out how to make plays to get the win,” Williamson said.
With six players scoring against Otterbein, junior Keiley Ayers led the pack with five goals. She is now the leading scorer with 14 total this season.
“It’s nice playing at home and finally getting those wins,” Ayers said. “It’s been a big confidence booster.”
With seven freshmen on a 17-person roster, the team has had to make a lot of adjustments this season, and starting out their season with four away games was a challenge.
They returned with a record of 1-3 and low morale.
“We started out with a hard season,” Miller said. “We played a lot of really hard teams right off the bat, and it’s hard to bring freshmen to play up to their best potential in that. So it feels really good to be at home and winning now.”
With two big wins now under their belts, they are ready to take on the rest of the season.
“We’ve had some ups and downs, but I think we’re finally getting into the groove of everything,” Ayers said.
They will face Centre on Saturday at 11 a.m. and Meredith College on March 9, before heading to California for their spring break games.
“I hope we continue to push on from here,” Williamson said. “If we cut down our mental mistakes, it will be a good rest of the season.”