September 26, 2016
Dillon Taunton
Last week’s lacrosse practice on Sept. 12 was the first in the preseason for the new UCCS women’s sport.
Out of the 27 members in the NCAA division II certified team, 20 are freshmen.
A lack of collegiate lacrosse experience has created issues in establishing leadership roles, according to freshman biology major and low defender Annie Berg.
Berg started playing lacrosse in April as a walk-on for her high school team and was recruited to UCCS after four months of prior experience.
“Leadership has been interesting. It seems like every day someone else is stepping up, but there are a consistent few that other players are beginning to look to due to their experience,” said Berg.
While some of the players don’t have experience outside of high school, the team hopes to improve their strategy and focus on the high expectations they set for themselves, according to freshman biology major and low defender Sydney Cunfer.
“Most of our team played in high school, but we do not have many players that have played prior to that. So the average for our team is around two to four years of prior experience,” said Cunfer.
Cunfer said that the team wants to create a strong foundation with each other in order to perform well during practices and games.
This foundation includes looking forward to the future and getting into a mindset of winning.
“While it is important for us to put points on the board and win games we also have to focus on ensuring our wins are product of high expectations in practice and hard work. It is on us to not only win this year, but also to create a winning culture for the future as well,” said Cunfer.
“We have a lot of freshman, a lot of new girls and a lot of growing to do this year. We are a new program so we are starting at square one,” Said Cunfer.
The more experienced players, including transfer students and freshmen who have multiple years of experience, have been taken on leadership roles when needed.
“We have a few collegiate transfers and they have been great leaders as well experienced freshman players. We have had some girls step up and be leaders on the team,” said Cunfer.
What the team lacks in experience, they make up for with talent.
“We have a lot of talented players on the team; we have the talent to get where we feel we need to be. It is just a matter of time getting all the girls on the same page, learning how to work together as a cohesive unit,” said Cunfer.
Due to high expectations, a proving ground has been set for the team.
“We are going to always give perfect effort, but we may not always see perfect results every time, because the team is so new; we have a lot to prove,” said Berg.
The women’s lacrosse team’s first scheduled home game against Adams State University