Albion’s Women’s Lacrosse Team is currently in the midst of its 2022 season. On Tuesday, they had their most recent game against Hope College. There, they won their second conference match, scoring 16 points by the end of the game.
The Women’s Lacrosse Team has four more games this season. So far, they have won ten games and lost two throughout the season.
“I feel super confident and super grateful because we started off the season with a pretty tough loss, and then we continued from there to learn and get better every single game,” said Abby Sheklow, La Crescenta, Calif. senior. “Every single game every single one of us learns something and improves on something and we just keep getting better and better”.
A similar sentiment was echoed by Chrystelle Lopez, Van Nuys, Calif. senior.
“The whole point is that every day we try to improve and we try to improve with each other, in the sense that we don’t go easy on each other since that’s not gonna better our skills,” said Lopez.
Sheklow was able to provide an example of how she has improved as a player over the course of the season.
“I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned this year is respect for other people’s positions,” Sheklow said. “ I’ve had a lot more opportunities to help out the midfielders and go over on defense, and I’ve learned a lot about how actually like very difficult those positions are, especially goalie and defense, and I’ve gained a lot more respect for my team as a whole. When you’re an attacker, you can decide what you want to do. But when you’re a defender or a goalie, you have to react to what the other people are doing ”
The team’s performance is dependent on how each member interacts with one another.
“For sure communication is key. I think being very straight-up and open and inviting certain feedback and criticism is very important for us,” Lopez said. “Communication is something that, if you need to say something, you should say it because the longer you hold back, that’s not healthy because you’re not really being open with your teammates.”
Sheklow mentioned how the team’s mindset impacts the way they play.
“We hustle, that is definitely a big part of our mindset,” Sheklow said. “Some of the girls on our team are brand new to the sport and they may not have the best IQ and stick skills, but they work their butt off in every single thing they do.”
The focus has shifted to the impact that the work of new members of the team has had.
“Us girls even with the top skills on the team are constantly working our butts off because those girls that are getting better are forcing us to get better with them,” Sheklow said.
The Women’s Lacrosse Team this year has performed similarly to last year. By their eleventh game of the season, Albion’s team was at a 9-2 record.
Currently, the women’s team is meeting last year’s standards. With the victory over Alma on April 9, Albion marked its ninth consecutive year having won every MIAA conference opener.
The women’s lacrosse team will have its next game on Thursday at 7 p.m. They will be competing against St. Mary’s College on campus at Alumni Field.
Way to go, Britons in a great victory over Hope!