By Justin Zackal
Washington & Jefferson played in the Ohio River Lacrosse Conference championship game the last three years, beating Saint Vincent twice and losing to Transylvania last year, but this year, with the forming of women’s lacrosse as an official championship sport in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, there’s a new, perhaps surprise team atop the standings.
Westminster (12-2, 7-0 PAC), in the program’s third year of existence, is the top seed entering the inaugural PAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament. The Titans will host No. 4 Saint Vincent (4-7, 4-3 PAC), 6 p.m., Tuesday, while second-seeded W&J (8-7, 6-1 PAC) hosts Franciscan (8-6, 5-2 PAC), also at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The winners will meet in the finals Saturday at the highest remaining seed.
The Titans went 1-9 and 5-9 in their first two years, but they enter the tournament having won eight consecutive matches, including a 7-6 overtime win over the Presidents at home, April 9. The Titans returned just two all-conference players from the ORLC last year and were predicted to finish fifth in the PAC preseason coaches’ poll.
So what’s the reason for the Titans’ emergence?
“I believe my team’s passion is the driving force,” said Westminster head coach Kim Eldridge. “They put their heart and soul into not only the games, but into the practices in the cold winter months. They have strong work ethic and high expectations for themselves. The relationships they have built with each other have pushed them to new levels on the field as a family this year.”
Returning all-ORLC performers like junior Bria Braddock (53 goals, 19 assists) and senior Emily D’Amico (41 goals, 11 assists) rank fourth (72) and eighth (52), respectively, in the PAC in points, but a larger roster that includes the likes of junior transfer Margo Mason has improved Westminster. Mason, who played for Eldridge at Chartiers Valley High School, leads the PAC with 101 points and 78 goals.
The leading goal-scorer for W&J is junior Rae LaRochelle with 64, while freshman Grace Deegan paces with Franciscan with 55 and senior Naomi Schwaiger tops Saint Vincent with 36.
W&J, who holds a slight edge on Westminster in goals against average (8.51 to 9.05), has won four straight games by at least 11 goals since losing to the Titans.
“We tried to make the most of our mistakes during the game and fight through them,” said Eldridge, describing the Titans’ win over W&J. “We were playing two-men down on defense at one point and managed to create chaos, which taught us that we can handle adversity. The win obviously helped us gain confidence knowing that we can achieve something that we never have before.”
The winner of the PAC tournament will automatically qualify for the NCAA Division III tournament with pairings announced Sunday, May 5, at 9:30 p.m.
