Women's Lacrosse Media Day Quotes
Head Coach Lisa Miller
On how exciting it is to begin the season:
“You spend the whole year building up for this. We’re excited to be practicing every day, and the kids are getting better and better and they’re coming together as a group. I look forward to this. The off season is important, and this is why you coach and why you play.”
On if she can see the excitement in the girls:
“You can feel the energy. You can definitely feel it. It’s getting better every practice. There are a lot of new faces and it’s a young group. They’re just so excited to get on the field and play together. Hopefully we’re going to be able to maintain that through the year.”
On her impression of the team:
“I like the group. We went through the fall season and had a couple of scrimmages. They’re pretty athletic and mobile. Everybody fills a role and does they’re job, and they like what they’re doing. It’s strange, we go 20-deep on the field and when you take someone out and put someone in, it changes the game, and it’s going to be difficult to defend.”
On the challenges of replacing Leigh Ann Zimmer:
“We lost 45% of our offensive production in two people. Not only do you have Leigh Ann, who’s the best attacker in the country, but we also lost Danielle Lillis, who sort of connected old and new and contributed at critical times. It’s a challenge and we’re looking forward to underclassman stepping in and putting points on the board. I think it’s about doing your job and everyone has to contribute this year to compensate for the loss of those two.”
On being able to finish the season strong:
“The end of last year was just difficult. Defensively, we just didn’t come together. We’re already playing better defense right now then we did at the end of last year. We were getting into offensive shootouts and we turned the ball over, so it’s disappointing. All we had to do was win one of those and we would have been in the NCAA tournament. Sometimes things happen for a reason so you have to learn from them and move on.”
On the schedule this season:
“I’m a proponent of a tough schedule. I don’t see the point of beating up on someone who’s weaker than you. Georgetown is what it is, it’s a BIG EAST game and we alternate. Last year, we had to finish up with three games on the road and to be a good team you have to win on the road. The Dome is comfortable for us, we’ve been very successful here, but we’re looking forward to playing Georgetown.”
Senior Courtney Palladino
On what the team’s goals are this season:
“Unfortunately, last year we didn’t make the NCAA tournament, so that’s what we’re shooting for the year. We lost some great players, but our freshmen are doing so well this year and they’re really a good support to the team. Everyone else is contributing and we’re working as a family this year, and it’s going to be an exciting season. We are just going to expect the best.”
On how tough it is to replace the offense from last year:
“We lost two of our biggest scorers last year, but it’s going take a lot of focus and a lot of teamwork. The underclassman have to step up and start scoring more. We have a couple go-to players and if they get double-teamed, other people are going to get open and everyone else will start scoring and contributing.”
Junior Jen Kasel
On the young defense:
“The advantage of having such a young defense is that they are willing to learn. They are working hard to do everything in practice and listen to what Lisa Miller and the older girls have to say, and take that and mold themselves into a strong defense.”
Sophomore Jill DePetris
On what she hopes to accomplish this season:
I hope to add in a little bit. We don’t have one key player this year, which is good. We have a lot of depth to our team.”
Senior Caitlyn Dragon
On what the team needs to do this season:
“We have great underclassmen. They’re all great and they’re all stepping up. I think it’s going to be hard to replace last years seniors, but easy to get things done.”
On being a captain:
“I love it. It’s an honor and great responsibility. I’m happy to lead the team.”
Junior Melody Agnew
On what her goal is for the 2005 season:
“I really want to win the BIG EAST. We work hard and we have a lot of talent. We’re pretty young, but we really want to beat Georgetown. I think if we work hard and work as a team, we’ve got a good shot at it.”
Senior Monica Joines
On what the team expectations are:
In terms of the team, we definitely have the stability to go far, it’s just getting the younger kids experience and us older kids to step up when we really need to. Most of all, I think we want to win the BIG EAST this year because we haven’t done it yet. Georgetown has controlled the BIG EAST since we’ve been around, and it would be nice to give ourselves a chance to be at the top of the BIG EAST, and that means an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. We were really upset about not making it into the tournament last year, and that was a big let down.”
On how the offense is going to work this season:
“Leigh Ann certainly left quite a legacy for us to fill here at Syracuse, and there will probably be no one that can fill her shoes because she was an unbelievable player. We just have to have some more consistent people step up day-after-day. We may not have one big superstar this year, but we certainly have a lot of people that have the skills and the ability to do it.”
On the defense:
“We’re a pretty strong unit. We’re much better at communication than we’ve been in the past. We have some younger kids that are being weaved into the unit, but the older kids are really taking them under their wings and teaching them to step up when it’s time to step up. We are working hard on double teams and taking the ball away more so it gives the attack more opportunity to possess the ball.”
On the freshman class:
“I think this is by far the strongest freshman class we’ve had since I’ve been here. We brought in some strong kids who can be key players. We really don’t focus so much on the age on our team.”
On the excitement to begin the season:
“This is really nice to put the uniform on and feel what it is going to be like to have the first game, especially for the freshmen who have never done it before. I can’t wait for the games to start. That’s when all your hard work pays off. Finally, its time to show what you’ve worked so hard for. I’m hoping that we really get some nice rewards for all the work that we’ve done.”
