Shayna Berman
Stella Kelley
Laura Nagg
Staff Writers
The girls’ lacrosse season is one of the most anticipated times of the school year; players look forward to it from the beginning of the year. With a new JV coach, Rory Yerkes, and several new students joining the team, this year is guaranteed to be exciting and fun, and hopefully successful.
The girls’ first game of the season, scheduled for March 21, was canceled due to field conditions after the snow storm. While some girls were upset about this, it gave new players some more time to practice and figure out where they belong on the field. Their next game took place at the end of that week, on Friday the 24. Unfortunately, the girls could not pull out a win with a tough loss against Upper Moreland, but it will definitely give the girls motivation to work hard and be prepared for the next game.
Junior player Riley Brennan claims that she is “really excited for the rest of the season and cannot wait to get outside to play on the actual field.” Along with most of the other junior and senior players, she has been part of the team with Coach Dougherty since freshman year, and a strong bond is definitely present.
Senior captain Victoria Kalinovich took a break from lacrosse for a few years, but last year she decided to dive right back in. She proves to be a strong leader and uplifts the team, as voted captain by the team last May. This spring will be her final sports season at New Hope, and she reflected on her career by saying: “I love it! I really do love it! I love the people, the sport, the bus rides, the coach, the family-feeling! It’s a great environment to be part of and I’m so glad I get to finish my career in high school sports on this team. I love everything!”
Betsy Dougherty, the team’s fearless and passionate coach, who played on the Penn State Women's Lacrosse Team, and on the World Cup team for three consecutive years, has been the head coach for the past three seasons and assistant for the year prior. In anticipation of the season and team, Dougherty states: “I definitely see a lot of potential for this team. It is a rebuilding year with our strong seniors from last year gone, but everyone this year is pretty much at the same level and we can grow and advance together. Although there are no real shining stars on our team there’s plenty of skill that can be built upon.”
