WEST HARTFORD, CONN. The Hartford Women's Lacrosse team look to get the ball rolling in their 2025 season. Following a 2024 record of 8-8, the Hawks see the sky as the limit as they look to improve on last year's record as well as compete in the Conference of New England (CNE) tournament for the very first time.
A New Look:
After losing four players from last year's roster, Hartford welcomes eleven newcomers to the program in the way of two transfer students, eight freshmen, and an assistant coach.
Assistant Coach:
Riley Brennan
Attack (3):
Kate Zonin (North Smithfield, R.I.)
Jaleen Ruiz (Goshen, N.Y.)
Caitlin Welch (West Haven, Conn. / Nichols College)
Midfield (3):
Emiley Bussiere (Agawam, Mass.)
Brenna Slattery (Wilbraham, Mass.)
Lauren Smela (Cheshire, Conn. / Wagner College)
Defense (3):
Allison O'Donnell (Goshen, N.Y.)
Alexis Lakeram (Baldwin, N.Y.)
Abby Scher (Wayne, N.J.)
Goalie (1):
Nora Miller (Ellington, Conn.)
"One thing that will allow us to improve this year is having a much bigger roster, we brought in eight freshman and two transfer students, which allows us to do a lot more full-field drills at practice, have higher intensity, and more depth on the bench," said head coach Elizabeth Morrison.
Familiar Faces:
The Hawks welcome back 13 players headed into the 2025 season. Among those are the teams three captains, sophomore Talei Ricketson (Centennial Colo.),who made 16 starts in all of Hartford's contests a year ago, tallying 15 goals, 32 points, 17 assists, and 16 ground balls. Junior Samantha Ciaglo (Colchester, Conn.) who started in all 16 contests as well securing 13 caused turnovers, and eighteen ground balls, in defense for Hartford. Senior Meghan Smith (Orange, Conn.) who notched 32 points with 25 goals, seven assists, and 47 shots on goal. As they look to lead their team to success over the coming months. With this year being their first eligible to compete in the CNE tournament there is a lot to be excited about for this group. Also coming back for the Hawks is junior Sara Costa (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) who made 13 starts in 2024 with 21 points, 16 goals, 26 shots on goal, and 17 ground balls. Sophomore Laurel McIntosh (West Kingston, R.I.) who started in 12 games for the Hawks last season, scoring 19 points, 16 goals, 21 shots on goal, and 12 ground balls. And junior Courtney Ingham (Bedford, N.H.) who tallied 15 points, with 12 goals, three assists, 34 shots on goal and 13 ground balls.
"A big expectation for us is to build off of last year... it's just a big team thing for us this year," said Ciaglo.
"It's really exciting we get to compete in the CNE this year, last year we didn't really have that to look forward to, and to be able to look forward to that this year it's really exciting." Rickertson said.
"We've made improvements in our practices...we brought the freshman in and started with a much higher intensity... we're starting off on a much higher note this year than last year." said Smith
Head coach Elizabeth Morrison also returns for the Hawks, entering her second year as the team's head coach, after previously being an assistant.
"I'm excited for year two, I'm really happy to continue my coaching career at Hartford, and to continue building on the success we've had from last year. I'm really excited for this year because our seniors were the first class that we were able to coach here when I started... I think it'll be great to see them graduate and be the first players to go through four years under the division three program," said Morrison.
Looking Ahead:
The Hawks will start their season on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at home as they host the Warriors of Eastern Connecticut State University at 4:30PM. From there they will travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on Vassar College. They will later make the trek down south to take on Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA and Berry College on Mount Berry, GA to wrap up their non-conference matchups before beginning CNE play, including highly sought after matchups against Roger Williams on Mar. 26 on the road at 4:00PM , and Endicott at home on Mar. 29 at 3:00PM.
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