Lacrosse Season Kicks Off

By Broadside Staff Contributer Will Scullion

George Mason University Women’s Lacrosse team is poised for a strong season and possible run at the Colonial Athletic Association title.

The Patriots, who finished a disappointing 1-6 in CAA play last year and 6-10 overall, were picked fifth in this year’s CAA preseason poll.

Head Coach Amy Bokker, in her 11th year as the Patriots’ coach, believes that her team has a good chance to be the CAA champion.

“In the last two years, everything has really evened up,” Bokker said. “Everyone is competitive and I definitely think we have a shot.”

This year, the Patriots’ field is what many would consider to be an inexperienced team, with 11 freshmen on the roster. Several of those freshmen, according to Bokker, will most likely be starting this season.

Also new to the team this year is Alana Chan, who transferred to Mason from Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. As a midfielder, Chan also played for the Canadian National Team. While at Canisius, Chan earned a number of accolades, including 2005 MAAC Defender of the Year.

The team does return four seniors from last season, including attacker Laura King. King was first-team all-CAA last season, with an average of three points per game, which put her ninth in the conference.

The biggest loss for the Patriots this season is that of sophomore midfielder Kelly Davis. Davis is out for the season with a torn ACL that she suffered in the fall. The team was able to redshirt Davis due to her injury, so she will not lose a year of eligibility this season.

In losing Davis, the Patriots will lose a player who scored three game-winning goals last season and tied for 10th in the CAA in goals per game with 2.19.

The first regular season game for the Patriots will be played in Fairfax on Feb. 23 against Johns Hopkins University. Hopkins is currently ranked No. 8 in the country by Inside Lacrosse Magazine.

“We definitely start out with two of our toughest games,” Bokker said.

The other game Bokker is referring to occurs on Feb. 27 against Georgetown in D.C.

On Feb. 9, the team participated in the Charles Street Challenge Scrimmage. The all-day event took place in Baltimore. During the day, the teams that scrimmaged included Loyola, the University of New Hampshire and Wales.

What could end up being the biggest game for the Patriots this season will come against school rival James Madison, in the last game of the regular season, on April 26 in Harrisonburg.

“The game against JMU is always important,” Bokker said. “They are consistently a good team in the conference.”

JMU finished second last year in the CAA tournament and has been picked first overall in this year’s CAA preseason poll. They are ranked No. 16 nationally. Last season, JMU defeated Mason 12-10 in the only meeting between the two teams.

Since 1992, only four teams have won the CAA championship. Those teams are JMU, Hofstra, Loyola and Old Dominion. The best Mason has ever finished in the CAA is third, a feat which they have reached three times: 2000, 2003 and 2005.