Simmons College Lacrosse Blog

What A Ride!

We ended the season with a three game conference win streak and the potential to make the fourth spot of the GNAC tournament. Tied (with four wins and four losses) with Lasell College and Mt. Ida College, we had no idea what tie-breaker rules the conference had and was going to use. We were extremely excited and nervous about the turnout, knowing that it would probably come down to chance. Coming out of our regular season play with our lacrosse being the best it ever has, we hoped we could continue on and seek revenge against one of the top three teams who beat us during the regular season.

Unfortunately, the tie game down to a name drawing, which we lost to Mt. Ida. Though we really wish it had been us, we are so proud of all we have accomplished in our second season as a team and know that we only have better things in our future. We reached many of our team and individual goals and now know what we are capable of in the strong conference. We already look forward to next season, and to starting off where we ended with great energy and strong, fun team play.

Thanks for everything!

Love, Simmons Lacrosse 2010

2010 Season Comes to an End

We ended our season with a three game win-streak and a chance to make the playoffs. Winning games against St. Joseph (CT) and Pine Manor helped us clinch a three-way tie for the last spot in the tournament. At St. Joe's we started the game strong despite the early morning and long bus ride. Nine players scored and seven players assisted in the awesome effort on attack. We really focused on sharpening our cuts and plays which led to the offensive surge.

In our final game against Pine Manor, we had a lot of mixed emotions. We were excited about potentially making it to playoffs but sad since our season was coming to close to its end. We are very proud of how we ended the season, only allowing 6 goals by Pine Manor and playing another complete offensive game. We have to wait and see if we make it to the tournament!

Meow, Simmons Lacrosse

Focus!

During the week we played Framingham State College and Emerson College. Our team was really focused on producing solid defense against the two tough teams. Our defense played an outstanding game against the Lyons on saturday. Trouble in our attacking end led to a defeat though, as our offense was unable to produce and we ended up playing a lot of the game in our defensive end. Strong communication and calm play helped us keep the score relatively low as we worked on stopping the conference's best scorers.

Though Framingham is not a team in our conference, we wanted to work on our midfield transition and finishing on attack to beat them. We fell behind in the game, but we continued working on our goals to clean up play and bring the game back to a very close match up. Though we ended with a loss that day, we ended with great energy and wanted to bring that to our match up with one of the top conference teams which could decide our fate in the post-season tournament: Mt. Ida.

XO, Simmons Lacrosse

Our Seniors

With our last home weekend game approaching, we are realizing how quickly the time flies! Our Senior Day is Saturday, and we are not ready to acknowledge their eminent departure.

Last week we went 2-0, getting our first conference win against Rivier College and a victory against Daniel Webster in the first 85 degree weather of the spring. We then fought a hard, hot battle against undefeated St Joe?s, Maine on Wednesday, coming up short due to a slow first half. We hope to get our energy and spark going in the first half against Emerson, who will surely prove to be a strong and smart team as well.

We?ve been focusing on marking defense in the 8-meter, really trying to cut out passes in and force the attack back out 1 v 1. Our communication and transition game have really improved and we continue to work hard on our goals.

We are excited for the games to continue!
Kate and Jen

The Midfield

We had a strong first game last Monday against Anna Maria winning 16-10 and had a total of eight people scoring. The midfield had strong transitions and accurate passes up to the attack; we really stepped it up in the second half and showed everyone what we are capable of. We also managed to reach four of our team goals for the game including number of goals, shot percentage, and save percentage.

We didn't come out as strong in the Lasell game, showing that we need to work on our possession, but Kelly definitely kept us in the game. We moved on and played much better against Norwich. Our transition game definitely picked up, however our lack of accurate shots on goal made it hard to come out on top. We're really working on making smarter decisions around the goal on offense.

This has been a very busy week: we have sought out what we need to work on and concentrated a lot on fixing these things on and off the field. Everyone is doing well trying to adjust to our very busy game schedule, and we love the competition.

Tonight the midfield is looking to pull it all together so we can have a successful game against Pine Manor in the rain. SHARKS LOVE THE WATER!

The Simmons Attack

We are back! After a week of spring training in West Palm Beach, the girls who traveled to Florida came back with a great tan and good bonding to build on.

We rejoined as a whole team on Tuesday, and we had a great week of practice during which we brought a lot of intensity to the field-- we really stepped it up! Our strong play was a combination of coming back together as an entire team, the beautiful weather, and preparing for our first game on Monday, 3/22! The team has showed improvement this week, as we seem to be working more as a unit and are coming together to prove our potential.

This week, the attackers' main goal has been to focus on clean passing and catching around the eight-meter. We continue to work hard to perfect our offensive strategies. Our first game is finally almost here! We attackers we are looking forward to scoring, making smart plays, good assists, and great corner shots! Can't wait to play Anna Maria later today!

-xo, Simmons Attack

Spring Break

Our spring break trip to Florida was A-mazing!! Everyone really enjoyed the change of weather, which allowed us to practice in t-shirts and shorts rather than three layers of clothing! From the first practice down south our new climate seemed to bring out a whole new level of intensity, which we carried with us throughout the week. Having two games to look forward to also pushed us to work hard. Unfortunately we were only able to play one of those games, but we made the most of the situation putting it all out there against a strong Vassar College team. Despite having no subs we played hard and gave a good first showing, while taking away some great things to work on.

Due to the bad weather at the end of our stay we were able to fit in some more great team bonding time. We all walked away with cute matching Palm Beach sweats, and we didn't even let the rain deter us from a swim in the ocean! On Friday we went to the movies which- depending on who you were with- found us either jumping in fright or crying our eyes out.

Overall this trip has definitely strengthened us as teammates and friends. We are so so happy that we put the time in to make this trip possible and we hope that it becomes a yearly tradition for Simmons Lacrosse!

Syph and Meaghan

Last Week of Preseason!

We spent our last week of pre-season battling the weather to spend some time outdoors. After a great set of scrimmages last Saturday, we have a clearer picture of what we need to work on and continue to push hard to improve.

This week, in addition to spending time on the field, we spent some time in the classroom working on our team philosophy and season goals. It really got us thinking about the hard work we have put in and how that will continue to pay off. Everyone on the team is on the same page, and our goal of finishing in the top of the GNAC has become clearer every week.

We are psyched to start games next week in Florida!

Wish us luck, Coaches Kate and Jen

The Freshmen

This past week we worked on ground ball pick-up, using our non-dominant hand, creating and practicing offensive plays, and increasing the volume and effectiveness of our communication.

With another week of morning practices under our belt, we were very excited to finally test what we've been working on in an actual game-like setting. We ended both scrimmages against Emmanuel College and Rhode Island College on an awesome note.

Practices definitely proved to be helpful in the scrimmages on Saturday, because our team worked as a cohesive unit and worked the ball up and down the field. In the second half of the scrimmage against RIC, the team proved themselves to be at a high fitness level by not letting down after more than an hour of play. Also, our first-year goalie, Kelly, had a least 13 saves and we're very enthusiastic about her dedication and success!

After the scrimmages, the team discussed what we believe we should be working on in the upcoming weeks: ground ball pick-up, offensive movement off the ball, and organization in the defensive end.

To continue on our team bonding, several players, plus Kate and Jen, went to a Boston Blazers Lacrosse game. The Blazers beat the Washington Stealth 11-9; It was an intense game!

It appears our team is off to a great start! We are all very excited to tidy up our play and test ourselves against non-conference teams during the trip to Florida, and then further prepare for our first game against Anna Maria on March 22nd! Wish us luck!

The Sophomore Sharks Say Hello!

This week we were finally able to go outside! While it is very exciting, we still can't wait until two weeks from now when we are in sunny Florida.

We have morning practices this week, which, despite the early wake-up call, most people have decided they like. We are working really hard to prepare for our first scrimmages this Saturday against Rhode Island College and Emmanuel College. Being out on the field is quite different from the gym!

Kelly got in goal for the first time this week and impressed us all with her quick learning. We are psyched to have her as our goalkeeper.

We've been bowling as a team and are planning to go to the Boston Blazers game on Saturday evening, so the extra team bonding has been fun, too. Everything seems to be coming together really well, and we can't wait to see how Saturday goes. WISH US LUCK!!

Hello from the Juniors!

After a week of conditioning, we progressed to Week 2 and to finally using our sticks. Training this week has been tough and exciting but very worthwhile. We first started off with wall ball, passing drills, and keep-away in the gym, and then the coaches introduced defense drills which consisted of more positioning, blocking and footwork.

We began our long weekend on Friday with conditioning, stick tricks, and a 10 minute game of basketball. With the final score 3-2, it is clear most of us should stick to lacrosse!

So far, the Simmons lacrosse team is looking great! This weekend most of us are home getting our things ready for spring training in Florida. We are all so excited to go down and attend the Spring Fling 2010. This team is made up of a great group of girls and we juniors LOVE being a part of it!

Hello from the Seniors!

Hello from the Seniors!

We are absolutely psyched for our senior season of lacrosse! We are pumped to improve our skills and really make a difference on the field. We have the GNAC title in our eyes and we won't stop anything short of it.

After the first week, our season is off to a great start. Morning practices can be a hard way to kick off a season, but everyone has been working and playing hard, showing our awesome level of team dedication. It has been a rewarding week of lifting circuits, spinning, swimming and team bonding - and our team's hip-hop skills are a force to be reckoned with!

We ended our week with a scavenger hunt in the freezing cold; but who wouldn't want to run around Boston on a Saturday morning with their fabulous teammates? It was a great way to end a tough week, and it set the right mindset for Week 2 of Simmons Lacrosse 2010!

-Syph & Jen

Hello From Coach Kate!

Simmons Lacrosse had a great off-season, ending with a successful play-day at Salem State College in October. With the addition of ten new team members and an assistant coach, the 2010 season is already looking bright.

We have been busy fundraising for our spring training trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, where we will train for a few days and kick off our regular season schedule. The cold New England weather is giving us even more reason to get excited for this adventure!

Our aim is to update this blog weekly, giving the readers an inside view of how our season is going. Practice starts Monday, February 1st, so we�ll have plenty to talk about next week. We hope you will continue to follow us on our quest for the GNAC Championship game!

See you on the field,

Kate

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