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Women's Lacrosse February 28, 2017

CU Women's Lacrosse 2017 Season Preview

The loss of the Liberty League's Co-Player of the Year and most of the starting defensive corps will make for a different look from the Clarkson University Women's Lacrosse team in 2017. Despite those losses, however, the Golden Knights will look for their veterans to quickly gel with newcomers and hopefully not miss a beat from last year's 12-win campaign.

The Golden Knights set school records for most wins (12) and most conference wins (6), but still found themselves as the odd team out of the playoffs due to a three-team tie-breaker. Clarkson lost more than half a dozen players from last year's team, including the program's all-time leading scorer in Christine Wright and a trio of long-time defensive starters in Mallory Fisher, Hanna Gleason and Emma Jeffery.

Fifth-year head coach Bennett Gaebel and the rest of the coaching staff won't be looking to make up for the loss of Wright's 5.38 points per game by plugging in one player and praying for lightning to strike twice. Instead, the Golden Knights will rely on a deeper squad of talented players to make up for Wright in hopes of replicating the 11.25 goals per game that the team scored in 2016. The Golden Knights open the 2017 season with a non-league game against crosstown rival SUNY Potsdam on March 1st.

Clarkson returns three Liberty League All-Stars from last year's team, including two position players that the Knights will look to for leadership. Senior Ashley Flick, a Liberty League Second-Team All-Star, saw her offensive numbers increase considerably in her junior year, scoring 58 points on 46 goals and 12 assists, surpassing her total from the previous two years combined. Junior Taylor Collins enjoyed a solid second season and elevated herself to Honorable Mention All-Star status as a sophomore thanks to 31 points on 17 goals and 14 assists, as well as the seventh-highest draw control average (2.50 per game) in the league. She also ranked first on the team in groundballs (31) and second in caused turnovers (13).

Joining Flick and Collins as top returning scorers are senior Kate Dillon and junior Casey Shannon. Dillon ranked third on the team in scoring for the Knights with 43 points on 26 goals and 17 assists, placing eighth in the conference in assists per game (1.06 apg). Shannon also tallied 14 points thanks to 13 goals and one assist. Additionally, Clarkson also returns Christina Pollard and Taylor Kwiek in the midfield for additional offensive punch.

Taking over on draws, sophomore midfielder Jaid Baytos will look to be a key player for possession. Her 5-9 frame proved helpful last year in the middle and she could easily sway games with a breakthrough campaign.

While Clarkson will have a number of underclassmen at starting positions, the defense will see some turnover. Seniors Cassandra Hopkins, Rachel Loecher and Paula Morse combined to see time in 13 games last year, but it was juniors Abby Gruneisen and Lynette Smith who saw the most time of the defensive returners, each playing in all 16 games last year for the Knights. Sophomore Amanda Ellman also played in 16 games, while classmate Madden Rowlee participated in five. The defense will be bolstered by Stephanie Scaia and Cayleen Murphy, as both will be thrust into the starting lineup. Also joining the corps are sophomore Emily Eaton and freshman Alyx Panarites.

Scaia and Murphy won't be the only freshmen starting right away, as the duo will most certainly be joined by Emma Andrews, Katie Sergeant and Abby Collins in the first game's lineup, while Aubrey Borgesi, Kendall Bodah, and Lexi Smith will likely serve as reserves.

Even if the scoring is down for the Knights this year, the Knights can depend on goalkeeper Samantha Gladd to keep the team in games. The sophomore made an impressive debut at Clarkson, ranking second in the conference in both goals against average (6.48 gaa) and save percentage (48.9%) to earn Liberty League Second-Team All-Star status. Classmate Carrie Yurkon was a capable replacement in her six games of goalkeeping relief, posting a 4.32 goals against average with a 50.0% save rate in close to 140 minutes of game time.
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Players Mentioned

Mallory Fisher

#11 Mallory Fisher

D
5' 6"
Senior
Hanna Gleason

#13 Hanna Gleason

D
5' 7"
Senior
Emma Jeffery

#9 Emma Jeffery

D
5' 8"
Senior
Christine Wright

#19 Christine Wright

M
5' 4"
Senior
Jaid Baytos

#10 Jaid Baytos

M
5' 9"
Sophomore
Taylor Collins

#3 Taylor Collins

M
5' 3"
Junior
Kate Dillon

#21 Kate Dillon

A
5' 1"
Senior
Amanda Ellman

#25 Amanda Ellman

D/M
5' 7"
Sophomore
Ashley Flick

#2 Ashley Flick

A
5' 6"
Senior
Samantha Gladd

#30 Samantha Gladd

GK
5' 8"
Sophomore
Abby Gruneisen

#24 Abby Gruneisen

D
5' 4"
Junior
Cassandra Hopkins

#14 Cassandra Hopkins

D
5' 7"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Mallory Fisher

#11 Mallory Fisher

5' 6"
Senior
D
Hanna Gleason

#13 Hanna Gleason

5' 7"
Senior
D
Emma Jeffery

#9 Emma Jeffery

5' 8"
Senior
D
Christine Wright

#19 Christine Wright

5' 4"
Senior
M
Jaid Baytos

#10 Jaid Baytos

5' 9"
Sophomore
M
Taylor Collins

#3 Taylor Collins

5' 3"
Junior
M
Kate Dillon

#21 Kate Dillon

5' 1"
Senior
A
Amanda Ellman

#25 Amanda Ellman

5' 7"
Sophomore
D/M
Ashley Flick

#2 Ashley Flick

5' 6"
Senior
A
Samantha Gladd

#30 Samantha Gladd

5' 8"
Sophomore
GK
Abby Gruneisen

#24 Abby Gruneisen

5' 4"
Junior
D
Cassandra Hopkins

#14 Cassandra Hopkins

5' 7"
Senior
D