Washington College Women’s Lacrosse Season Preview

CHESTERTOWN, Md. – In 2018, the Washington College women’s lacrosse team achieved a lot as they started 6-0 in Centennial Conference action for the first time, secured a spot in the Centennial Conference Tournament for the eighth straight spring with a 7-2 mark and tallied a winning record for a program-best ninth straight season going 13-5. The team put themselves in position to receive an at-large bid for its first NCAA Tournament, but those hopes came to an end when they were not picked for the tournament.

In 2019, the team hopes to cap the final year of its most successful decade in program history with that first trip to the NCAA Tournament and first Centennial Conference Championship under first-year head coach Kate Fowler. Fowler arrives in Chestertown after serving as an assistant coach for two-time National Champion Gettysburg and won a National Championship as a player at Hamilton.

While the roster will return 11 players who started in nine or more games last spring, the team will need to fill two key voids left by Autumn Spence ’18 on the defense and Madison Acra ’18 on the offense.

The roster of the 38th edition of Shorewomen Lacrosse consists of eight seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and five freshmen. Serving as captains this season will be seniors Cecily Docktor (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) and Madison Schutz (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll).

Entering last season one of the biggest question marks was in goal, but senior Isabella Richardson (Potomac, Md./Stone Ridge School) rose up to the challenge and gave stability in net. In 922:59 of action, she had a .429 save percentage and a 12.09 goals against average on her way to winning a pair of Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week Awards. She is the team’s lone goalkeeper this spring and will seek to improve on those numbers.

On defense, Schutz, the reigning Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year, 2018 All-Metro Region first team honoree, 2018 All-America third team pick and two-time Centennial Conference first team selection is back in the fold for her senior season. Schutz led the team and conference in caused turnovers (43) and was tops on the squad and second in the Centennial in ground balls (56). Schutz, who finished third on the team in draw controls with 30, added a goal and an assist for two points as she was the first Washington player to win a conference player of the year award in women’s lacrosse. Schutz is the team’s most experienced defender as she has started all 53 games in her WC career. Also back in the mix on the defense are juniors Kayla Catts (Mullica Hill, N.J./Clearview Regional) and Melissa Donato (West Chester, Pa./Reed Henderson) and sophomores Meghan Dean (Mayo, Md./South River) and Catherine Keirn (White Hall, Md./Notre Dame Prep). Catts became a vital piece in the Washington defense last spring as she had 13 ground balls and nine caused turnovers in 18 games, 17 starts. Donato was fourth on the team in caused turnovers with 14 and added 21 ground balls in 18 games, 13 starts, as she tallied three goals a spring ago. Dean played in 10 games, five starts, as she had eight ground balls and five caused turnovers, while Keirn last year tallied eight ground balls and five caused turnovers in eight contests, one start. Joining the back unit are freshmen and Chloe Sass (Ocean City, Md./Stephen Decatur) and Molly Sharpe (Towson, Md./Notre Dame Prep).

At midfield, the Shorewomen return four players who saw significant time last year in seniors Caitlin Donovan (Baltimore, Md./Friends School of Baltimore)and Emily Pantazes (Middletown, Del./Middletown), junior Aubrey Robinson (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett) and sophomore Anna Bennett (Phoenix, Md./Garrison Forest). Emily Pantazes had 11 goals in 18 games, 15 starts, including the golden goal against Stevenson, in addition to notching 21 draw controls, 20 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers, as she was one of five WC players to have over 20 draw controls and one of seven to have 20 or more ground balls. Donovan had four goals in 10 games in 2018. Robinson had a strong sophomore season with 40 points on 27 goals and 13 assists to go along with 30 draw controls, good for fourth on the team, and 19 ground balls. In her rookie campaign, Bennett was second on the team in draw controls (49), tied for second in ground balls (32) and third in caused turnovers (24) while scoring nine goals and adding nine assists for 18 points in 17 games, nine starts. Her 24 caused turnovers was good for sixth in the Centennial and her 14 caused turnovers in conference-only contests was fourth in the conference, while she was tenth in the CC in total ground balls and ground balls in CC contests (17).

Joining the quartet at midfield in 2019 are freshmen Sydney Allender (Linthicum, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) and Olivia Miller (Annapolis, Md./Southern).

On the attack, the Shorewomen have four players back in the mix who tallied 29 or more points last season. Leading the way are senior attackers Cecily Docktor (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) and Kristy Grovom (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills) who were the top two point-getters and goal scorers last spring. Docktor, a Centennial Conference first team pick and All-Metro region second team selection in 2018 had team-bests of 41 goals, 27 assists and 68 points last season and in the Centennial she ranked fifth in assists and sixth in points. In Centennial games, she was third overall in points (40), fifth in helpers (17) and sixth in goals (23). Docktor played and started in all 18 games last year. Grovom, who also started and played in all 18 contests, was second on the team in goals (39) and points (48), while adding nine assists.

Joining Docktor and Grovom as returning attackers are seniors Alison Pantazes (Middletown, Del./Middletown) and Lexi Rullo (New Fairfield, Conn./Canterbury School) and juniors Lauren Brenner (Glen Mills, Pa./Episcopal Academy) and Molly Johnston (Norwell, Mass./Norwell). Last year in 18 games, 17 starts, Alison Pantazes had career-bests of 29 points, 13 goals and 16 assists as she was third on the team in assists and sixth in points and scores, while picking up 15 ground balls. Brenner in 18 games, 16 starts, last season was third on the team in goals with 35 and fourth in points with 41. She scooped up 14 ground balls and notched six assists. Rullo had three goals in nine games, two starts, last spring, while Johnston had one goal in two contests in 2018.

Newcomers at the attacker position are sophomore Lauren Maxwell (Towson, Md./Loch Raven) and freshman Colleen Keefe (Timonium, Md./Notre Dame Prep). Maxwell is the younger sister of Ellen Maxwell ’17, who was a four-year member of Shorewomen Swimming.

The Shorewomen, who went 6-0 in games determined by two goals or less last season, return 187 goals, 80 assists and 267 points from the 2018 squad.

Joining Fowler on the coaching staff is Julie Morse. Morse is in her third season with the Shorewomen.

Washington will open its 2019 slate – which features four of the top seven ranked teams in the IWLCA Division III Preseason Top 25 – on February 20 with a 5 p.m. road contest at #6 York (Pa.). A full schedule breakdown appears below.

Schedule Breakdown
Total Games: 17
Season and Away Opener: February 20 at #6 York (Pa.) (5:00 p.m.)
Home Opener: March 12 versus Coast Guard (1:00 p.m.)
Centennial Home Opener: March 30 versus McDaniel (12:00 p.m.)
Centennial Away Opener: March 23 at Dickinson (3:00 p.m.)
Centennial Home Opponents: McDaniel, Ursinus (4/3), Haverford (4/17), #7 Franklin & Marshall (4/20)
Centennial Road Opponents: Dickinson, Muhlenberg (4/6), Bryn Mawr (4/13), Swarthmore (4/24), #1 Gettysburg (4/27)
Non-Conference Home Opponents: Coast Guard, Randolph-Macon (3/16), Christopher Newport (3/19), St. Mary’s (Md.) (3/27)
Non-Conference Road Opponents: York (Pa.), Albright (2/27), Stevenson (3/6), #4 Salisbury (3/9)
2018 NCAA Tournament Opponents: York (Pa.), Salisbury, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg