By Michael Otero
Co-Editor-in-Chief
The women’s lacrosse team is coming off an extremely successful 2015 campaign, where it went 15-4 and an impressive 8-0 in conference play.
Photo: Maxime Devillaz
The woman who is leading the Pioneers is Meghan McNamara. In her almost 10 years at Post as head coach of women’s lacrosse, McNamara has won nearly 87 percent of her games. Her track record makes her one of the finest lacrosse coaches in the country. When asked what improvements could be made to her team, she said, “This year, we are working on our confidence as a team and performing at the level that we know we can play every day and becoming a stronger team unit because of that.”
Confidence didn’t seem to be something the Pioneers lacked last season. In their victories a year ago, they won by an average of 14 goals. This is an incredible statistic and McNamara gives much of the credit to her players. “We are very lucky that we have
a strong defensive unit, as well as having relentless players on the draw circle that helps us get possession of the ball.” McNamara continued to say the team takes
a lot of pride in following possession successes with points and they have a lot of fun on the eld.
McNamara expects a lot from her players, but does have goals she wants the team to accomplish. One of the biggest is to be the best teammate you can be.
McNamara said her team is inspired by George Boiardi, a former Cornell men’s lacrosse player, after they read his story last fall in the Jon Gordon book, “Hard Hat.” In a nutshell, the book goes into the life of Boiardi, who tragically lost his life playing the sport he loved in 2004. Gordon examines his life as a player, person and as a teammate. “Great teammates don’t just impact you today; they impact you for the rest of your life,” Gordon says in the book.
Recently, the Pioneers were ranked sixth in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Division II Preseason Poll. In response to the ranking, McNamara said, “I do not look at rankings honestly. I had no idea we were placed sixth.” She continued, “When we focus on ourselves and what we can control, everything else will fall into place when the time comes.”
Other than winning games, the Pioneers ultimately want to get better as a unit. “Our time together is very important and special and we are continuing to focus on us, this team and our time together,” McNamara said.
McNamara and Co. kick start their season on Tuesday, March 1, when they welcome Nyack College to Brookville, N.Y. Game-time is set for 3 p.m.
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