Women’s Lacrosse Will Host The Hokies To Begin 2021 Season

After a season cut short by COVID-19, the Liberty women’s lacrosse team will finally start its long-awaited 2021 season Friday, taking the field against No. 18 Virginia Tech at home as the Lady Flames aim to start 2021 with a statement victory. 

The Flames have not played an official game since a 14-13 win against Robert Morris March 5, 2020, going 3-1 in the last four games of the season. However, preparation for the 2021 season has not been the same as in years past. Given the absence of fall preseason games and having to prepare 17 incoming freshmen to slot into the team, eighth-year Head Coach Kelly Nangle turned to in-practice scrimmages to help freshmen get ready. 

“We were able to replicate a game situation as best as we could, just within our team,” Nangle said, “It helped everyone get through the fall because it can be tough when you are just practicing, or training and you don’t know when the next game is going to be.” 

With the unique circumstances new recruits are facing in adjusting to the pace of college gameplay during a pandemic, Nangle emphasized her freshmen’s resiliency. 

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our freshman class,” Nangle said. “We have a lot of freshman that we anticipate will have an impact pretty quickly. We have a lot of freshman that are really working well with our upperclassmen, which is really cool … considering the circumstances.” 

Defender Sarah Steenson is headed into her fifth year with the Flames as a senior, and entering a year unlike any she has experienced before, she feels ready to compete. 

“I just have a really good feeling about all the preparation we’ve put in and there is just so much heart on the team, you can’t go wrong,” Steenson said. “We’re just excited to get after it.”  

Although the Lady Flames lost to Virginia Tech in their last matchup, midfielder Mia Toscano is excited at the team’s opportunity to open the new season with a statement.  

“We’ve been so excited to play them again,” Toscano said. “I feel like the first time we played was not a true representation of our team, so we’ve been really practicing on things and focusing on things this week and the past week that we knew we needed to improve against a team like Tech. I think we will come out strong next week.” 

After finishing their shortened spring season 3-3, Nangle believes that the Lady Flames have a couple things to improve on this season, particularly when it comes to their usage of the ball in difficult games. 

“I think something that is really going to make or break us this year is possession,” Nangle said. “If we can take care of the ball a little bit better, that’s going to be a small thing that makes a big difference when we are playing these tight games.” 

Though the season will include positives, Nangle knows that keeping the team able to balance the many stressors of a strange year will be crucial – even as she looks forward to starting its year on the front foot. 

“Our challenge is really going to be to stay positive,” Nangle said. “The teams that stay positive are really going to be the ones that come out of this bearing fruit.”

Zac Zehnder is a Sports Reporter.