Womens Laccrosse Builds a Positive Atmosphere

  The Norwich women's lacrosse team finished last season with a Greater North Atlantic Conference (GNAC) Championship and is now in fall ball getting ready to defend its title, according to the team's head coach.

 "Everyone has come in very positive and excited to get going next semester. To have a positive atmosphere right now, and to be excited for fall ball until our season kicks off is a good start and noticeable thing for our team so far," said Head Coach Beth Van Parys.

 Norwich Athletic Director Anthony Mariano applauded the team's ability to adapt to a new coach and system last season.

  "One of the difficult things to overcome was having a brand new coach. That's not very easy to do. The team last year was very close and was able to work through the fact that they had a new coach, different system and a different way of doing things. That united them because they would not have had to go through that process if they were under the same system for a couple years," said Mariano.

  With winning the GNAC Championship the team now knows what it takes to win and that will only help them focus, according to Van Parys.

 "The girls can see a lot of motivation in themselves. They motivate each other while knowing they can accomplish a conference championship," Van Parys said. "They know their individual ability and their ability together. Every year you want to be on top and that's the ultimate goal. They put work and focus in, but have some fun so they can accomplish that."

  Mariano agreed with Van Parys and said if the team wants to repeat, it must work hard in the offseason.

  "It's always difficult to repeat because you are the team to beat. They saw the results of their hard work and that was very rewarding and exciting. It's something that everybody strives to do and once you get a taste of that it stays with you," said Mariano.

  Van Parys and Mariano agreed that Emerson and St. Joseph's (Maine) will be the top contenders to take the title from Norwich. Both teams ended with 7-1 conference records last year. But Van Parys said that the league as a whole will be very competitive.

  "Emerson is always a tough opponent. And we had a battle with St. Joseph's (Maine) last year. The league continues to get stronger every year," said Van Parys.

The Lady Cadets open their season March 22 at Westfield State.

  "We always expect the best out of each other. I think we can win it again. It all comes down to how much work and preparation we put in. If we do those things and have some fun and play with confidence I think we have a real good shot at repeating," said Van Parys.