Acorn

After battling the nationally ranked Division III teams of Colorado College and Franklin & Marshall, the Drew women�s lacrosse team�s record stands a bit shaken at 1-4, but the team is wiser and more experienced. �All of the four losses�were to legit, nationally ranked teams,� Coach Kim Christos said, referring to her team�s four as of March 22. �We�ve been getting stronger and better as a team with each game, and this will help us with conference games,� she said.

Franklin & Marshall, ranked eighth in the nation, provided enough physicality and ability for the Drew women to hone their developing skills, but didn�t give enough away for the women to earn a win.

�We were outmatched physically � [Franklin & Marshall] had some big, tall, fast girls that we could not match,� Christos said, referring to the 5-12 loss. �Our inexperienced players had a difficult time with the pressures, especially in the midfield.�

Christos is dealing with a very different team from the one she had last year. Gone are the contributions of former All-MAC players Sarah Bergman, Anne Dorrance and Anne Luetzow, who helped Drew win the MAC conference title last year.

Though many players remain this year from last year�s championship team, the 2006 team has incorporated �four new players who have never played lacrosse,� Christos said, referring to sophomores Jennifer Schoepflin and Meghan Santaniello and Junior Kirstin DiFusco, who are working from field hockey experience, and junior Gabbie Haenn, who has a soccer background. �Athletically, they�re all doing great�just when you�re playing against such skilled teams, that�s when the lack of finesse with stickwork shows,� Christos said.

�The team is still performing very well against such skilled opponents,� Christos said. She cites the March 15 game against no. 4 nationally ranked Colorado College as an example of her team�s potential. �We matched up [Colorado�s players] better, and we only lost by two goals,� Christos said, referring to the final score of 8-10.

Drew beat Wilkes College in their first Freedom Conference game yesterday by a score of 16-10, snapping their two � game losing streak. Led by a pair of hat tricks between freshman Courtney Rumbough and junior Mackenzie Sandler, Drew performed both offensively well � six team members contributed goals � and defensively well, with goalie senior Casey O�Brien coming up with 10 saves. Rumbough�s hat trick had Drew standing at 5-2 by second period. Though Wilkes responded to tie the game at 8 by the half, Drew took over the second half with eight additional goals.

Drew plays Elizabethtown on Sun. at 3 p.m. at Ranger Stadium.

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