Winthrop’s Lacrosse team seems to be headed into an exciting season, as eleven new freshman and one sophomore transfer have been added to the roster. One of those freshman include Alyssa Angelo, a secondary education major, who is eager for the season.
“I’ve been playing lacrosse for four years,” Angelo said. “I believe I [will] bring good effort and energy to the team.”
Casey Davis, freshman integrated marketing communications and graphic design major, was also introduced to the team.
“I have been playing lacrosse for 11 years (since 2nd grade),” Davis said. “I [will] bring a strong commitment to elevating my skills, as well as discipline to be my best. I am super motivated which allows me to be a motivator. I believe that my positive attitude will add to the success of the team.”
With the addition of these new faces, it seems that excitement is running throughout the entire team, including the upperclassmen. Junior exercise science major, Olivia Deaver, shared her thoughts about the hefty new roster.
“I am so excited,” Deaver said. “The newcomers have been amazing so far. Everyone loves them on and off of the field and they have been so adaptable. We really needed the extra players and can’t wait to get to know them more and more on and off of the field. It’s hard to say with the season being so far away, but I expect us to be a solid group this year and to hopefully make it to the Big South Championship game again.”
Teammate Lauren Morris, junior healthcare management major, shared in Deaver’s excitement.
“Having a hefty freshman roster this year just like last year will come with many challenges, but in the end, it is very exciting to have all of this new talent in hopes that it will make our team even more successful,” said Morris. “I think with adding so many new players there will be struggles with gelling together as a unit in the beginning. It takes time and a lot of hard work to be able to play successfully together with so many new faces on the team. But the positive [thing] about having so many new faces is all of the potential talent that they can bring to our program.”
“The team is already so close and everyone helped make the freshmen feel very welcome,” Angelo said. “With adding 11 to the team, everyone has been so welcoming to us. The dynamic of everything is very fluid and clicked instantaneously. I expect we all work hard and together to have a very successful season.”
“So far, we’ve had a couple of team dinners, where we go to an upperclassman’s house and all relax and have dinner together,” Deaver added. “This fall we will be doing lots of volunteering events together.”
“With only a few weeks into preseason I think that our team chemistry is improving day by day and it is really exciting to see how well we all work together thus far,” Deaver added. “We are with each other almost every day of the week, whether we want to or not. You quickly grow a close bond with each teammate which really helps build the chemistry on the field as well.”
Though there is still a while before the lacrosse season begins, each of the players have high expectations for their upcoming season.
“Because of so many new faces this year, one of our strengths will be versatility,” Deaver said. “We will have a deeper sideline that is ready to jump in the game and give it their all when we need it.”
“As for weaknesses,” Deaver added, “I really think the only weakness with such a bigger roster is connecting on the field at first and knowing each other’s own strengths and weaknesses. By the time season comes around, this will not be an issue.”
“My expectation for this year is to have a consistent successful season and to play to the high standard that I believe we can accomplish,” Morris said.
“This season is going to be a game changer for Winthrop lacrosse,” Davis added. “We have numbers and skill on our side to dominate this year.”
