If someone had told AU women’s lacrosse Head Coach Emma Wallace that her team would open up the 2013 season on a six-game losing streak, she wouldn’t have believed it.
“When I took over for her [former Head Coach Laura Campbell in October], I was excited for the season,” Wallace said. “I jumped at the opportunity to coach this team.”
Wallace had high hopes (3-6, 3-0 PL) coming into this year. However, when the team started off by losing six straight games, things didn’t look good for the interim coach or the team. Of those six losses, five of them were by four goals or less.
In addition, the losing streak was all against non-conference teams. Despite their losses, the Eagles still entered conference play with a chance to win the regular season.
Although AU got off to a slow start, the Eagles still received quality contributions from numerous players. Junior attacker Alex Lugovina and senior attacker Kimberly Collins are in the top 10 in the Patriot League in goals per game. Junior midfielder Emily Maher is second in the conference in draw controls per game while freshman goalie Teal Harrison ranks first in saves per game.
As Wallace points out, AU’s initial losses did not reflect the skill the team possesses.
“We have the talent to go far this season,” Wallace said.
Following its March 9 loss at Old Dominion (3-6, 1-0 CAA), AU did some soul-searching. Wallace had the team take the three days between games to learn from their mistakes. The players decided their season would start anew that day.
The introspection paid off.
On March 13, AU beat Coastal Carolina (3-6, 0-0 Big South) to get its first win of the season. Three days later, they beat Holy Cross (1-1, 4-7), a team that was projected to finish No. 2 in the Patriot League preseason coaches poll.
Wallace called this a “big, emotional win” and said that her team “was on fire that day.”
On March 23 AU rallied to beat Colgate for its third consecutive win.
With about half of the season remaining, AU is in a position not only to make the conference Tournament, but also to get a bid for the NCAA Tournament.
Wallace and the Eagles have tremendous confidence in their ability to make a deep run this year. At the beginning of the season, the future looked bleak. Now, the Eagles have made a six-game losing streak seem like a thing of the past.
AU next hosts Bucknell (0-3, 1-9) Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Lax Blowout.
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