Nov. 2, 2007

Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst women's lacrosse team put the finishing touches on a successful six-week fall season. With nine freshmen and a transfer, the Lakers worked hard to prepare for the 2008 spring season.

"This fall we raised the bar on our expectations of these fine young women," Head Coach Cecil Pilson said. "Our team developed faster than anticipated and we were able to execute a new style of defense exceptionally well. As a coaching staff, we were very pleased with this fall segment of the season. We had five dates of competition against Division I, II, III, NJCAA, and NAIA opponents. It was great to see the team's progression, improvement and development over the few short weeks."

Pilson continued, "This fall we were able to see what we needed to work on as a team and as players individually. We had many different players step into a multitude of positions in order to see where they fit best in our offensive and defensive systems. I am looking forward to welcoming our many dual-sport athletes back to the team once their fall seasons conclude so that we can move on to the next phase of training to get ready for the spring season."

The Lakers squared off against Division I opponents Canisius College, Niagara University, and St. Bonaventure University; Division II opponents Gannon University, Indiana (Pa.) University, and Lock Haven University; Division III opponent Buffalo State College; NJCAA opponent Mercyhurst North East; and NAIA opponent the College of Notre Dame (Ohio).

Pilson expects to see many of the newcomers make immediate contributions to the program this spring.

"This fall we didn't have our whole team but the student athletes we did have made a lot of adjustments and were able to be very successful despite missing some key players. The team is looking forward to the championship segment of the season with a new addition to the coaching staff in Morgan Russell, a recent graduate and four year letter winner at the University of North Carolina. Coach Russell has added a new dynamic to the program and the team has responded well."

Mercyhurst is entering its twelfth year of competition and returns 10 starters and 19 letter winners from last year's team. The Lakers will debut 10 newcomers this year when they open the season on the road against Lees-McRae College on Feb. 22, 2008 in Charlotte, N.C.