Women's lax places third at WCLA tournament
By Gina Massetani
The women's lacrosse team finished their season strong this past weekend, competing in the Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates National Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona. The tournament consisted of 16 teams, some of which were nationally ranked. In the first round, Santa Clara was able to cruise past Boston College with a final score of 23-12.
Senior Kayla Ushman, who is also president of the team, explained the anxiety that came with playing in a championship tournament.
"Everyone was really excited to be there and to win," said Ushman. "Everybody wants the national title so bad, so tension is high. After you lose, it gets a lot more fun since the pressure is off."
The Broncos' second opponent was Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, a team that had won the WCLA national championship several times in the past. Despite their experience as a team, the Mustangs were unable to keep up with the Broncos, who captured the 18-10 victory.
Despite facing minimal pressure in their first two games, Ushman explained the Broncos remained humble, making sure not to avoid falling victim to their own unforced errors.
"The opponent isn't going to be us. We aren't going to beat ourselves." According to Ushman, the team reiterated this phrase to each other before every game.
In the semifinals, Santa Clara matched up with ninth-place UCLA. The Broncos held a five-point lead, but the Bruins were able to come back and tie the score. The game eventually went into double overtime, where the Bruins made the winning goal.
"They got a few quick draw controls," said Ushman. "Their team is very fast and they just ran it down the field. They came out very hard the second half and our shots weren't falling and we weren't being patient. They just capitalized on our mistakes."
It was a devastating loss for the Broncos. The team's ultimate goal was to win nationals, which made coming up short in the semifinals very disappointing.
"It was hard losing in the semis when we thought the road was paved for us," explained Ushman. "The hardest thing was coming back to play a game on the next day."
The team did not have much time to regroup, playing in the consolation bracket the next day. Although morale was low, the Broncos pulled together and beat UCSB, 18-13, to finish the tournament.
Ultimately, the team placed third, making progress after entering the tournament as the fourth seed. Sophomore midfielder Maggie Burke set a new tournament record by scoring eleven goals over the course of the weekend.
For a team with 10 graduated seniors, making it to the WCLA semifinals was an impressive accomplishment. According to Ushman, the Broncos only ran six plays the entire season. Led by several new additions, including the head coach Jennifer Lee, the team was able to practice and execute these plays to near perfection.
Lee, a 2006 Santa Clara graduate employed a unique coaching approach, Ushman explained, but the team felt Lee offered a fresh dynamic to the team. Although the Broncos fell short of their championship goal, Lee was very proud of her team.
"Coming into the season my main focus was on what the team's goals were," said Lee. "I did not want to come in and have it be a dictatorship. I came in and talked to the girls and captains to see how they envisioned the season and how they thought they would get there. The players were really held accountable for the season, which was nice."
"It was a very successful season," said Lee. "It was a transition year and we came out on top of all these changes."
Overall, the Broncos had a terrific season, finishing with a record of 15-3. Heading into next year the team will look to expand upon their success in the hopes of coming one step closer to their ultimate goal of winning a WCLA national championship.
Contact Gina Massetani at gmassetani@scu.edu