Lacrosse Magazine Article on Women's Team...
by dillon77 (2020-03-30 13:35:17)
Edited on 2020-03-31 09:08:03
Post Reply Return to Arlotta Stadium

..featuring interviews with Andie Aldave and Coach Halfpenny.

Everyone felt that news before the trip to Vandy was a bit ominous, then surreal, then downright deflating. As both Aldive and Halpenny said, they felt like they had all the pieces together this year. And they were playing #1 NC on March 15th.

So, the bad news is pretty obvious at this point. The good news is that all four of the Irish top scorers come back, as does their goalie. The question is will the seniors/grad students and given that so many of these scholarships are partial, how much can they get? Can they afford to come back? Do they have jobs. Samantha Lynch, for instance, was already a grad student. Can she really come back (again)?

In any case, here's the article. Hard to swallow, but can appreciate just how well they had been playing.





This team had a great chance to make the Final Four. I would
by MPG  (2020-03-30 13:54:51)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

be surprised if Lynch and Pearsall returned for a sixth year at ND. Some of the seniors might return for a fifth year, especially if there is a bad job market for 2020 grads.
There Are a Number of Key Seniors On This Team....
by dillon77  (2020-03-31 09:07:04)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

...at:
- Defense: Kathleen Roe, who was having a heckuva year;
- Midfield: Savannah Buchanan (the glue), Erin McBride, Kelly Donnelly (d-mid)
- Attack: Jessi Masinko, over injuries and finally playing the way folks expected.

The tough part here is how has Halfpenny allotted her scholarships? You can almost guarantee that there's not enough to go around. Can some of them qualify for post-grad grants at ND?

Luckily, there are excellent underclass players ready to move up:

Defense: The Scutaro twins
Midfield: Hannah Dorney and Katie Enrietto can pick up more of a role
Attack: Jackie Wolak was the other superstar frosh recruit along with Choma and Madison Ahern. She'll be ready.

If there's anyone I can see Coach Halpenny bending over backwards to have back, it's Buchanan, who was a co-captain, took draws, was a cohesive factor and Andie Aldave's buddy. Those two are as tight as Ahern and Choma and keeping two pairs of superstars happy is probably worth it.

Maddie Howe is one driven athlete, so she'll be locked and loaded coming back, as will goalie Bridget Deehan. What a pleasant shock her play was ths year.