Women’s Lacrosse Continues Historic Season

Samuel Barber
MSMU Class of 2022

(5/2021) Whoever said high-end success was limited to merely the Power Five ranks was clearly wrong. Collegiate sports often offer some of the best stories where a program is rebuilt from the ground up. The Mount St. Mary’s women’s lacrosse team has embraced a complete renaissance over the past three years, as the Mount is playing its best lacrosse in nearly two decades. Despite this newfound success, there are still two major accomplishments that are missing from the teams’ bolstered resume: a Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Will this finally be the year that Mount St. Mary’s overcomes their final two barriers?

The team continued to add to its list of accolades as they were named the regular season champions of the NEC on April 21.

After beginning the season with back-to-back losses, Lauren Shellchock’s team has completely flipped the switch while steamrolling the entire NEC in the process. Mount St. Mary’s is in the midst of an 11-game winning streak, as their defense has been impeccable as of late. Since Feb. 27, Mount St. Mary’s have downed teams by an average of 10.9 goals per contest (GPC). Although the common saying of "defense wins championships" rings true with this team, it is the offense that the team possesses that is stealing headlines. Out of the 13 games this season, 10 games have seen the Mount eclipse the 15-goal mark. Achieving this feat this many times during a single season speaks to the overall scoring versatility of the team.

A majority of the teams within the conference are dominated by players out of the sophomore and junior ranks. However, the Mount is dominated by the likes of juniors and seniors. The latter have offered not only Mount women’s lacrosse fans, but women’s lacrosse fans in general must-see action. Alayna Pagnotta, a senior out of Woodbine, MD, as well as fellow senior Jordan Butler are spearheading the offense with 37 and 35 goals respectively. Both players erupted for a combined 11 goals in an April 7 game against Long Island University (LIU). Two other notable seniors have also notched their way into the stat sheet for the Mount. Kate Kinsella and Sara Moeller both have had multiple 5+ goal games during the season, with the former recently being named NEC Player of the Week.

Outside of the surge in success from the array of seniors, various juniors and underclassmen have elevated their games. Junior duo Erin Anderson and Jordan Groover have made the most of their limited starts. Anderson, a Westminster, MD native has found the back of the net 19 out of the 33 trips. Groover presents a more lethal offensive blueprint to the field. Through 19 shots on goal (SOG), the midfielder has scored on 17 shot attempts. The Tennessean has continued her long-standing success in a Mount St. Mary’s uniform, as she is only a year out of being named NEC Rookie of the Year. One of the most underrated players for the Mount this season is Christina Haspert. The freshman attack has made the most of her limited minutes, tallying six goals in five games, with her breakout game coming against Central Connecticut State (CCSU) where she notched four scores. As a team, the Mount has outscored opponents by a staggering 214-99 margin.

Despite the four leading scorers being miles ahead of other players, an unselfish playstyle has become a common theme for this team down the stretch. On nearly every scoring possession this season, the goal has been accompanied with a dime being dropped, better known as an assist in layman terms. A team that possesses this skill is almost always going to be a hard team to beat. Butler and Moeller have emerged as the team's assist leaders with 19 and 20 respectively. A balanced scoring attack paired with a sturdy offensive front is destined to be a recipe for success.

Since Shellchock was hired by the Mount back in 2014, her success story has done a complete 180. After beginning her tenure in Emmitsburg with an underwhelming 18-47 record, the seventh-year head coach has compiled a 43-13 record through the ongoing 2021 season. The resurgence of the program has not been an overnight project. Instead, it has been a nearly five-year rebuild. Mount St. Mary’s has gone from being an irrelevant Division-I program, to being a team that is on the cusp of cracking the Inside Lacrosse Division I Women’s Lacrosse Top-20 for the first time in program history.

Currently standing atop the NEC with a profound 11-2 overall record and 10-0 conference mark, there appears to be no clear challenger willing to take the Mount down when it matters the most. However, as a team that is used to lopsided victories, the teams’ past two games against Bryant and Wagner (both games decided by only six goals each) served as a reminder that anyone can win on any given day. The spotless record within the conference is nothing new to the Mount. This season will mark the fourth time since 1998 that the Mount has finished NEC play undefeated. They look to become the first team to post back-to-back undefeated marks in conference play since University Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) obtained the feat in 1999-00.

Across the entire collegiate sports landscape, administrators, athletes, and coaches alike have viewed this season as a redemption season. This cannot be more of an accurate statement for Mount St. Mary’s women’s lacrosse. After having the 2020 season axed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Mount St. Mary’s has certainly picked up where they left off. Posting a 6-1 record, many across the women’s lacrosse world believe that 2020 was going to be the year that the Mount finally breaks the ice.

The team’s quest for an NCAA Tournament berth is nearly 16 years in the making as the Mount has not heard their name be called on the selection show since 2005. In the 2005 tournament, the Mount routed Manhattan in the play-in game 18-2 before losing to eventual national champion Northwestern 16-3.

As for the current team, the final two games of the regular season against Saint Francis (PA) and LIU have been halted due to a severe surge in coronavirus cases on the Mount St. Mary’s campus. With their regular season all but over, the focus switches to the NEC Tournament which is slated to begin May 5. After winning the regular-season crown, the Mount will host the conference tournament from Waldron Family Stadium.

With Mount St. Mary’s firmly holding onto the top place, and LIU and Wagner clamping down the second and third places respectively, all eyes have turned to the race for the last tournament spot. Three teams (Bryant, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis (PA)) are currently in the running, as only a half-game separates the three schools from the coveted fourth-place position. Out of the three teams, the Bryant Bulldogs appear to be in the driver’s seat.

The Wagner Seahawks are two-time defending champions heading into the 2021 tournament.