The Big Green women's lacrosse team hosts its season opener against Granite State rival University of New Hampshire this Saturday. After receiving a preseason ranking of 10th from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association earlier this week, Lady Green athletes said they look forward to the season with confidence and excitement.
The Big Green have been training hard to live up to and exceed their stellar 2004 performance. Last year at this time, Dartmouth started off the 2004 season by beating UNH 10-5. Following their first season victory was another win against Stanford during spring break.
Proving their strength throughout the season, the Big Green reached the NCAA tournament for the second straight year and sixth time in the past seventh years. However, after 66 minutes Dartmouth was physically and emotionally drained, and fell 6-5 to No. 1-ranked Princeton for the Ivy League title and advancement to the semi-final round of play.
Amy Patton enters her 13th year as head coach, pushing the Lady Green to continue their powerhouse tradition. The team has captured seven Ivy League titles and made eight NCAA tournament appearances in the last 12 years.
With five graduating seniors retiring their sticks in 2004, Erin Osborn '05 and Sarah Sanborn '06 have stepped up as co-captains and senior leaders for the 2005 season. With three of the five top scorers of 2004 returning -- Katieanne Christian '05, Casey Hazel '06 and Kristen Zimmer '06 -- Osborn and Sanborn said they are confident in their season's outlook.
After a winter-break trip to Australia and four weeks of grueling preseason practice and play, the Big Green have come together stronger than ever.
"Our strength this year will undoubtedly be our team chemistry and our ability to come together," Sanborn said. "Given our commitment thus far, I am excited and confident that we will respond well to all the challenges we face this season."
Osborn said she is confident as well.
"When we look at our team, we see potential that simply can't be quantified," she said.
Zimmer, one of the team's majestic midfielders, also expressed her excitement for the 2005 season and upcoming home game.
"We are in our fourth week of preseason and everyone has been working incredibly hard, and we're ready to get the season started against UNH," Zimmer said. "We have high expectations for the season, but right now we're focusing on working hard and getting the most out of every practice."
When asked about her reaction to the recent preseason ranking of 10th, Osborn said, "Our team never pays too much attention to rankings. We are all about the process and focusing on the journey. We are committed and working hard to get better every day."
Sanborn added, "Although I've never been a big believer in rankings, I am excited that we're ranked well this year and am confident we can prove to be better than our ranking may show."
As for now, the Big Green narrow their focus to the first step in the run for the NCAA title in their game against UNH this Saturday.
