May 12, 2005
By Jim Fenton, Enterprise staff writer
EASTON ? After winning the NCAA Div. 2 championship in 2003, the Stonehill College women's lacrosse team was looking forward to defending its title last spring.
The Chieftains never got that opportunity, however, as they lost three regular-season games and didn't receive one of the four invitations to the national tournament.
"We were all so upset that we didn't make it back last year,'' said junior attacker Jenny McGrath. "We were determined to get back there this year. We didn't talk about it, but it was something we knew we had to do.''
Stonehill stayed home as Adelphi University defeated West Chester University, 12-11, for the 2004 championship, and it was difficult to be on the sidelines.
"I think it made everyone work harder in the offseason,'' said junior midfielder Erin Acone, the Northeast-10 Conference player of the year. "We came into this year with a chip on our shoulder.''
That motivation has worked to perfection for the Chieftains, who are back in the NCAAs as the top-ranked team with a 19-0 record.
They will play third-ranked Adelphi (14-1) Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in the semifinal round at West Chester, Pa., riding a school-record 25-match winning streak that dates back to April 18, 2004.
Stonehill has been a team on a mission and is just two victories away from a second NCAA title in three seasons.
"I think (not making the tournament) last year helped us,'' said Coach Michael Daly. "You learn the most from failures.
"I think this team got a lot more athletic. They came in very focused. They put so much work in during the offseason that they are in the best shape of any team we've had.
"It was very disappointing not to get back last year, but you learn how hard it is to repeat in any sport. You need to be a different team.''
The Chieftains have not had many disappointments since the program made its debut in 1999 after being a club team.
Stonehill, which as been ranked No. 1 the past five weeks, has won or shared all seven NE-10 regular-season titles and has won six conference tournament crowns.
If Stonehill can extend its winning streak by two more matches this weekend, it will add another national title to the impressive resume. The program has gone 104-22 in seven seasons at the varsity level.
"It's been a wild, storybook ride,'' said Daly, who has been in charge since the start. "I think back to 1999 when we started and we had a bunch of athletes who could barely play lacrosse.
"But there was a very good foundation. There was great team chemistry right from the start and there were great kids. With the kids from the club team and the attitudes they had, I knew it could be special right away.
"We set the goal in that first year to win a national championship within five years. Sometimes you have to talk about your goals to realize them.''
Stonehill started winning right away, going 11-3 in 1999, and the program became attractive for women's lacrosse players.
Though the sport is not available to most high schools in southeastern Massachusetts, Daly has been able to recruit players from Hingham High and Milton High and Longmeadow High where there are strong programs. He has also gotten players from Long Island, New Jersey and New Hampshire where lacrosse is a regular on the sport menu.
"I looked at a lot of different schools, but another girl (Melissa Gross) from my high school in New Hampshire had come here and I heard a lot of good things about the program,'' said Acone, a two-time All-America who has 64 goals and 17 assists this season. "I think you have to give a lot of credit to the girls who push each other. Everyone is determined to top the year before.''
Said senior defender Meghan Carey of Hingham, "The program was fairly new when I got here, but the instant success was an attractive quality. I am very impressed with my team. We all want to get better every day.''
Daly keeps finding high-quality Div. 2 players, reloading after one group leaves. This season, he has eight players who have eclipsed the 20-goal mark, led by Acone.
McGrath also has 81 points with 55 goals and 26 assists followed by Colby Confer (57 goals, 12 assists), Kristin Darrell (53 goals, 12 assists), Courtney Duggan (37 goals, 20 assists), Colette Carpenter (24 goals, 24 assists), Tracey Hoffman (27 goals, 16 assists) and Brenna Newfell (29 goals, seven assists).
"I think success breeds success,'' said Daly. "If you recruit good people and good student-athletes, they'll recruit others. We had early success, and kids want to play for a winner.
"Stonehill is an easy call to recruit the top student-athletes because it is such a good school. We get a good mix of players from all over.''
There are roughly 40 Div. 2 teams nationally playing women's lacrosse, and Daly expects that number to start climbing near 70 soon.
More high schools are adding the sport to their programs, which will expand the talent base in the near future.
"We've recruited a player for next year from Minnesota and we're moving into Florida to recruit,'' Daly said. "We're trying to get into Maryland where the top players are.''
Stonehill will lose five seniors from this year's team ? Carpenter, Newfell, Confer, Duggan and Carey, but there are nine recruits set to join the program.
No matter what happens in West Chester this weekend, the Chieftains will likely figure prominently in the NCAA picture in 2006 as well.
"It'll only get better here,'' said McGrath.
Winning another national championship after being absent from the tourney last year will only help matters, too.
"It would be an incredible accomplishment,'' said Carey. "It would be just great. I think it would be sweeter the second time around. We've dedicated ourselves to this after last year. It was such a surreal feeling last year.''
Said Acone, who already has 160 goals and 53 assists in 55 career games, "I think winning this year would be even better. One is great, two would be better.''
