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Lacrosse Athletic Communications

Hatters Begin Season Thursday Against Fresno State

Veteran players, a new offense and one big rule change are things to keep an eye on when Stetson Lacrosse opens the 2017 season 6 p.m., Thursday against Fresno State at the Athletic Training Center.
 
The Hatters return 18 letter winners from last season's team, which posted a 5-12 overall record. When the 2017 campaign opens every lacrosse team in the country will be adjusting to a new, first time element: a possession clock.
 
The lacrosse version of the shot clock will last 90 seconds, forcing teams to be more proactive on offense and essentially doing away with the stalling tactic employed by many teams during the final minutes of a tight game.
 
Stetson head coach Christy Leach – a top-flight defender in her days as a player at Northwestern – is fan of the game's new wrinkle.
 
"It impacts the game a little bit, but not much really," Leach said. "If it's a back and forth game you have to go to goal more. In the past you could stall in the final minutes, but not now. It's been a great addition so now we have to get our players up to speed on how to handle it. The nice part is that the defense gets rewarded now for playing well."
 
Offensively, the Hatters will need to speed up their pace of play and their attack. New assistant coach Nikki Boltja, an All-American in her playing days at Louisville, was brought in specifically to revamp a Stetson offense which ranked seventh in the ASUN last season in goals per game (8.65). The offensive improvements were on display last Sunday when the Hatters scored 17 goals in an overtime loss to Scotland's national team.
 
"Our attack is more dynamic than it has been in the past," Leach said. "Nikki has done a great job with taking what we have and finding options out of it."
 
Leach and Boltja have some obvious tools to work worth on the offensive side, most notably co-captain Lindsay Summers, and Hallie Merz. Summers was a 2nd-team All-ASUN pick last season after setting school records for points (50) and assists (36) in a season. Merz set a program record with 30 goals last season, and finished the year with 46 points.
 
"Those two are vocal leaders," Leach said. "They have adapted quickly to what we are doing. It's all new to them as well, but they're still able to perform and bring others along with them. All of our attackers have adapted to the new offense and the possession clock pretty well."
 
Newcomers Devon McKercher and Erin Cornell, both transfers, will add some extra punch to the Hatters' attack. Those two, along with Merz, Summers and other veterans such as Christina Loya, Jaclynn Levy, and Shelby Lehmann give the Hatters an opportunity for a much-improved offense.
 
Stetson is also going through some changes on the defensive side of the field as well. Standout goalie Whitney Meyers graduated last spring, and Leach brought in freshman Liza Diamond to fill the void. So far, Leach has been impressed with Diamond's play.
 
"Liza has been great in goal," Leach said. "The more comfortable she gets, the louder she gets. She has to find her voice. There's a lot more need for communication at this level than in high school. It's an ongoing process, and it will be for the next for years."
 
Junior co-captain Kathi Ricci leads the defense, where players like Erin Busch, Taryn Cook-Grisewood and freshman Sarah Trupp will also make an impact.
 
"The defense is a newer group," Leach said. "We lost half our defenders from last year as well. We've really focused on the attack but I think the defense has been able to work on little things like communication. That's something they can control."
 
Not to be forgotten are the midfielders, arguably Stetson's deepest group. Co-captain Maddie Holvey highlights a strong group which includes Taylor Patrizi, Quinn Roe, sisters Sam and Karli Maguire and Sandra Stephan.
 
"We have a great core of midfielders," Leach said. "We really have two solid midfield lines. We'll be a lot more balanced this year than we have been in the past."
 
Leach and the Hatters will face an ambitious early season schedule. Stetson opens play with Fresno State and follows that with games against Colorado, USC, LaSalle and Niagara as part of a season-opening five-game home stand.
 
"Out of conference you want to find tough opponents," Leach said. "It gives our players a look at the next level and what we can achieve. It gives us motivation to keep getting better. I want to see how we handle this competition. It's only going to make us better in the long run."
 
On the conference side, the ASUN has swelled to 11 teams this season with the additions of Coastal Carolina and Delaware State. Traditional conference power Jacksonville was unseated by Old Dominion in last season's conference tournament, making this year's conference race an interesting one.
 
"Obviously Jacksonville has been the top program and Old Dominion upset them," Leach said. "After those two I think it's anyone's game. We are pretty competitive within the league. We can win some games if not most of them."
 
All games are free and open to the public.
 
--SU--
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Whitney Meyers

#30 Whitney Meyers

G
5' 4"
Senior
Erin Busch

#24 Erin Busch

D
5' 8"
Senior
Taryn Cook-Grisewood

#26 Taryn Cook-Grisewood

D
5' 9"
Sophomore
Erin Cornell

#19 Erin Cornell

A
5' 8"
Junior
Liza Diamond

#6 Liza Diamond

G
5' 5"
Freshman
Maddie Holvey

#10 Maddie Holvey

M
5' 9"
Junior
Shelby Lehmann

#16 Shelby Lehmann

A
5' 5"
Sophomore
Jaclynn Levy

#27 Jaclynn Levy

A
5' 6"
Freshman
Christina Loya

#25 Christina Loya

A
5' 5"
Senior
Karli Maguire

#4 Karli Maguire

M
5' 6"
Freshman
Devon McKercher

#14 Devon McKercher

A
5' 8"
Junior
Hallie Merz

#17 Hallie Merz

A
5' 5"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Whitney Meyers

#30 Whitney Meyers

5' 4"
Senior
G
Erin Busch

#24 Erin Busch

5' 8"
Senior
D
Taryn Cook-Grisewood

#26 Taryn Cook-Grisewood

5' 9"
Sophomore
D
Erin Cornell

#19 Erin Cornell

5' 8"
Junior
A
Liza Diamond

#6 Liza Diamond

5' 5"
Freshman
G
Maddie Holvey

#10 Maddie Holvey

5' 9"
Junior
M
Shelby Lehmann

#16 Shelby Lehmann

5' 5"
Sophomore
A
Jaclynn Levy

#27 Jaclynn Levy

5' 6"
Freshman
A
Christina Loya

#25 Christina Loya

5' 5"
Senior
A
Karli Maguire

#4 Karli Maguire

5' 6"
Freshman
M
Devon McKercher

#14 Devon McKercher

5' 8"
Junior
A
Hallie Merz

#17 Hallie Merz

5' 5"
Junior
A