Bennie lacrosse seeks conference playoff push

With the regular season winding down, the CSB lacrosse team sits at sixth in the conference and is looking to make a push to go deep into the playoffs.

The team’s focus has now shifted to finishing the regular season strong and upping the intensity for the playoffs. Head coach Patrick Crandall described the expectations he had for the team and how close they achieved them.

“Expectations for this group were extremely high,” Crandall said via email. “We had a number of talented players returning and a group of talented first-years coming in to the team. The team has done well and we have come together over the course of the season.”

Crandall said the team has exceeded expectations in their ability to come together as a group and continue to build and understand the overall team concept and game play. “We are fortunate to have strong team chemistry and strong senior leadership,” Crandall said. “The team has always been there for each other and has consistently grown with each challenge placed in front of them. This will really come in to play when we head into the final week of the regular season and hopefully the playoffs.” 

The defensive group of Hannah Kurowski, Merrill Delich, Leah Hahs, Ashley Fischer and Ella Steinke have developed into a strong core group of defenders that continue to improve with each practice and game.

“I think this team has always relied on their offensive ability to outscore the opponents,” Crandall. “However, this season, the team has started to develop as a complete team. The great thing about this team is that they can adjust their play dependent upon who we are playing and do not rely on one style of play.”

Senior Samantha Hackley spoke on the highs and lows of the season and the team’s preparation for the playoffs.

“I think this season has been a bit of a bumpy ride for us,” Hackley said. “We’re not performing at the level we would like, but there is still a lot of season left and plenty to play for. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves and each other through our losses, which has been an important part of our growth.”

The team currently ranks sixth in the conference, but they are focused on making a big playoff push. Going into the season, the team had high expectations, especially coming off a strong preseason ranking at No. 2. While the results haven’t fully reflected that, Hackley said she still believes that there has been growth in different areas.

“Our team bonding and cohesiveness have been really strong day to day in practice, but we’re still working on consistently executing on the field,” Hackley said.

Being a captain of the team, Hackley said she tries to lead both vocally and by example. During this season, Hackley crossed the 200 career point mark  with three goals and two assists against the University of Wisconsin-Stout on April 15.

Sophomore Ava Mosley spoke on the season—both individually and as a team. Individually, Mosley said she has hit her goals that she set at the beginning of the season.

“My biggest thing for me individually is making sure that I am doing what I set out to do in the beginning of the year,” Mosley said. “Teamwise, our chemistry is amazing—that is one of our big things that we wanted to continue going off of last year.”

Mosley said she wants to continue to be a leader even though she is still pretty young. With the team only having three seniors on the team, she said she sees this as an opportunity to grow into a leader. Mosley reached 100-career points against UW-Stout, scoring five goals and two assists in that game. 

“Our biggest goal is to show all these teams that we are not a ‘nobody’ school in Minnesota,” Mosley emphasized.

CSB lacrosse concludes their regular season with a game against the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Sunday.