Russ Hendricks | Staff Reporter

The Lady Lions went out with a bang this season as they won their last game on enemy turf against Liberty University in Virginia. A season which has been both intense and demanding has proven the determination of the Women’s Field Hockey team.

Although it was not a winning season this time around with a record of 2-13, the coaches and players have looked at this year as a transition period into the National Championship Association of Athletics realm and are confident that with the experience from this season, they will bring home more victories next year.

“If I were to sum it up, this season was a transition for everyone, the players, coaches, and even the program itself,” senior player Irene Taranhike said.

Another contributing factor to the outcome of the season was the extensive amount of injuries attained during the games. The injured list was not short this season and made it extremely difficult for the Lady Lions. They would often times have so many players injured that they would not have enough players to substitute in and out during matches. This resulted in players competing for the entire match with no breaks.

However, the lack of players able to play did not stop the determined Lady Lions. “Our last game of the season against Liberty University, we played one man down the entire match due to the amount of injured players,” Taranhike said. “And were still able to pull away with a win.”

Taranhike continued to share that, “team chemistry is definitely something our team has a lot of. It plays an important role in the success of a team and we had strong chemistry going into the season, and it only grew stronger as the season went on.”

Although the team went through some rough patches this season, Taranhike speaks for her fellow players and coaches when she says, “The team has great potential to do well next year and I have complete confidence in them, especially with the experience they have gained at the new NCAA level.”