The women's lacrosse team closed out a solid season, going 3-1 last week capped by a 12-4 rout of the College of the Holy Cross on Sunday. The team also defeated the University of New Hampshire 8-7 on Thursday and edged Worcester Polytechnic Institute 12-8 last Tuesday. The only loss of the week came on Wednesday, a 16-4 defeat at the hands of the University of Rhode Island. The win against New Hampshire was especially sweet, avenging an 11-12 loss to the Wildcats on March 27. The Judges followed that game by losing 6-13 against Connecticut Club, but have since turned it around, going 4-1-1 in their last six games.
The team finished the season at a solid 4-4-1 despite the many challenges the team faces. Because lacrosse is only a club sport, the team often lacks the facilities and the support it needs. Trainers are unavailable and practice time is scarce.
The team does have a solid future that may rest on the small but capable shoulders of center Abby Shoolman '07. From Rivers School in nearby Weston, the 5-foot-1-inch Shoolman started on junior varsity her freshman year before advancing to varsity for the next three.
Despite her first-year status, Shoolman led the team in scoring, pouring in 43 goals over the nine games, and was critical on both ends of the field. Shoolman's season was highlighted by a nine-goal outburst against the University of Vermont on April 3.
The team was also helped by Carly Goteiner '06. Goteiner stepped into goal this season despite having no goalie experience.
"Carly's done really, really well in her first year in goal," coach Josie Broussa '02 said. "Last year was her first year playing lacrosse ever. We didn't have a goalie and she really stepped up into the void."
"We didn't have a very big team, we rarely had subs," Shoolman said. "There were a few of us who were main scorers and we worked really well together and pulled through."
Shoolman was a key component to that scoring unit.
"Last year we lost our high scorer, but Abby has definitely made up for her scoring-wise," Broussa said. "She's a [first-year] and it's great that the team can look forward to her leadership. I've been teaching her all about leading this club."
With the season behind them, the Judges look forward to the next challenge: making women's lacrosse a varsity sport.
"We petition the school once or twice a year to be a varsity sport," Broussa said. "They always claim [financial concerns]. We've done a lot of research into Title IX to see if it would apply and it doesn't. The school says if it had the money, lacrosse would be the first team to get it."
Despite the lack of success the team has had in the past in becoming a recognized varsity sport, Shoolman is enthusiastic about the prospect of playing varsity lacrosse.
"If we're varsity we can recruit," Shoolman said. "We need more people on the team and we need more skill. A lot of people are brand new players and if we're able to recruit we can have a lot more experienced people."
Julie Schwartz '07 is one of those inexperienced players who brought her determination and hard work to the lacrosse team.
"There's a lot of girls on the team who had never seen a lacrosse game before this year," Schwartz said. "We improved a lot on passing and working as a team."
The team will be saying goodbye to their three senior captains. Jessie Goldberg '04, Stephanie Weinberg '04 and Tammy Pellf '04 have been very encouraging leaders for the team.
"The captains are really supportive," Schwartz said. "I had never played and didn't even know the rules. They were really supportive and really patient. When we did something right they got really excited."
With the season behind her and a promising career ahead, Shoolman is fixated on varsity lacrosse.
"Being a varsity sport just gives you so much more support and help from the school," Shoolman said. "I take lacrosse really seriously and I want it be a varsity sport.