Ashland, Ohio – The Eagles have a chance to finish off one of the best seasons in program history on a high note.
The Ashland University women’s lacrosse team has continued to push the level of play forward as the 2024 season has rolled on.
In the most recent three contests, the Eagles have notched over 45 goals with tremendous offensive proficiency being found. The team is set to take on a variety of Great Midwest Atheltic Conference (G-MAC) opponents in the final weeks of the 2024 campaign.
“[We are] definitely a program on the rise. When I first started we were struggling a little bit,” said Head Coach Lauren Simko. “We were a program that had been through some coaching changes and had seen a lot of new faces in a short span.
“I think they [the team] were just a group that was looking for some consistency and stability. So I inherited this program that was a little bit on the rocks and now we are that program of consistency and stability.”
Throughout the last three seasons, the Eagles have amassed an overall record of 24-25, with their most successful campaign being the current season.
For the first time in program history, the team is set to be a top-three seed in the conference standings.
“I think the mindset is getting to that GMAC championship game,” said Simko. “We have really started to mesh at the right time.
“We’ve come a long way with just being confident in ourselves and understanding that we can play with some of these bigger and better teams. Now we’re feeling pretty good going into this conference tournament.”
Back on March 30, the Eagles took to the road to travel to Pepper Pike, Ohio, to take on the Ursuline Arrows.
The team was able to dominate from start to finish en route to a 19-1 victory, the Eagles’ most convincing win of the season.
“That was a wonderful game for us to work on sharing the ball,” she said. “That’s one thing that we do very well. Just reading your teammates and making those connections. I think that was a good game to help us continue setting up for success.”
As the season draws to a close, the team is looking to continue pushing their success forward.
“I think the seniors in their want to win a GMAC ring has like trickled through all the underclassmen,” she said. “These seniors have been around when the program was one and 11.”
“So we’re playing for them and they’ve done a really nice job of rallying their teammates and saying, this is what we want, help us get there.”
The Eagles will next look to take on the Walsh Cavaliers on Tuesday, April 9. The contest will come on the road with game time set for 4:00 p.m.
