2004 Women’s Lacrosse Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
The Buckeyes are coming off the best season in the history of the program. Ohio State finished the 2003 season with an 14-4 mark, recording the most wins in the history of the program. The Buckeyes return seven starters and seven other letterwinners from a squad that won the outright American Lacrosse Conference championship and qualified for the NCAA Championship for the second year in a row, advancing to the quarterfinals before losing to the eventual national champion, Princeton. OSU finished the season ranked 11th in the country and was ranked as high as ninth during the season.
On The Attack
The Buckeyes return two senior starters in Caroline Weatherill and Noemi Hites at the attack position. Weatherill produced 27 goals and an assist last season while Hites added nine goals and four assists. Returning letterwinners at attack include senior Molly McLaughlin, junior Melissa Sands and sophomore Andrea Fischer. McLaughlin had two goals and three assists in 13 games. Sands played in 10 games contributing a goal and an assist while Fischer had five goals and an assist in 10 games. Incoming freshman include Kelyn Laws, Natale Miller, and Colby Szlag.
For The Defense
Sophomore Kathryn Kozlakowski is the lone returning starter on defense. She started all 18 games, recording 29 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and eight draw controls. Junior letterwinner Libby Schmehling played in 16 games last season. Also available on defense is senior Jodi Kurylo and sophomores Alicia McClure, Emily Rosen, Alicia Meredith and Mindy Kittle. All five saw limited action with Kurylo playing in three games, McClure five, Rosen three, Meredith three and Kittle six. Incoming freshman include Danielle Gibson, Ally MacMeekin and Allyson Vernon.
In The Midfield
Senior Kelly Cook, juniors Regina Oliver and Brandie Williams and sophomore KC Carter comprise the four returning starters in the midfield. Cook had 35 ground balls and caused 17 turnovers. Oliver was the Player of the Year in the American Lacrosse Conference and a second team All-American. She had team-highs of 43 goals, 56 points, 42 draw controls and 53 caused turnovers. Williams contributed 49 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers. Carter, the ALC Rookie of the Year, scored 18 goals and had 36 ground balls, 34 draw controls and 19 caused turnovers. Senior Amy Tulk and junior Ashley Evans earned letters last season. Tulk played in 11 games with three starts while Evans played in every games and started twice. She produced 12 goals and five assists. Incoming freshman include Ashley Gorski and Lauren Traficant.
Defending The Goal
Ohio State has little experience returning in goal. Sophomore letterwinner Kim Hastings saw action in six games last season with one start. She had an 8.56 goals against average and a .355 saves percentage. Also returning is senior Taryn Bowen who saw limited time in four games. Incoming freshmen Joy DeMarco completes the trio in goal.
Departed Seniors
The Buckeyes lost five starters from last season. Senior attack Tracey Bounds was a first team All-ALC selection. She had a team-high 21 assists last season, adding 23 goals and a team-high 75 ground balls. Senior middie Shannon Wilson was a first team All-ALC selection. A second-team All-American, Wilson contributed 40 goals and nine assists last season. Senior middie Alexia Vogler had 10 goals and seven assists while collecting 43 ground balls. Senior defense Kimberly Lowe was a second team All-ALC selection and a third team All-American. Lowe had 46 ground balls and 33 caused turnovers. Also not returning for 2004 is goalie Erin Forquer. The ALC Goalie of the Year, she had a 25-8 record over the last two seasons.
The Future Looks Great
Despite losing five starters, the Buckeyes have a solid core of players returning to continue the excellent tradition that has been built over the last two years. With an outstanding freshmen class, Ohio State should continue to be in the hunt for the ALC championship and a return to the NCAA Championship.
