Evolving CMU Lacrosse Team Opens On Sunday At Notre Dame

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- New season. New era.

The Central Michigan women's lacrosse team opens its fifth season, in South Bend, Ind. on Sunday, Feb. 16 (noon) against Notre Dame and it marks the first time CMU will play without its in inaugural recruiting class, which included the likes of mainstays Jocelyne Lemay, Logan Halvorson, Dominique Hamman and Natalie Bloniarz.

While CMU lost players who were the foundation and leaders of the program, there remains plenty of talent and excitement program wide and in the likes of Natalie Karlen, Jessica Schuchardt and Shannon Doyle.

Karlen led CMU in points, with 61, and in goals with 45, in 2019; Schuchardt was second in points with 54, led in assists with 28, and had a .578 shooting percentage. All three players earned All-Southern Conference honors a year ago.

"We have a balanced offense," said Sara Tisdale, who has been the coach since the program's inception in 2016. "(There is) a lot of excitement. It's been a lot of fun to see the balance growing from our attack. I think we're going to be a lot harder to stop than we've been in years past."

Defensively, the Chippewas are led by seniors Brianna Hart, Angela Palmer and Kylee Frazier. Hart started all 18 games last season, earning a spot on the all-conference team.

Senior Dominique Hamman was the Chippewas' top goalkeeper a year ago, when she was named to the all-league team.

"With some of those awesome seniors who have graduated, we have a lot of opportunities up for grabs, and players are taking advantage of it," Tisdale said. "I think for every loss, we've had multiple people step up and showed some excitement in those areas."

Seniors Stepping Up
The nine-member senior class was groomed by the 2019 grads, Tisdale said, and the leadership baton has successfully been passed.

"(I'm) really impressed," she said. "You think about the offensive end, they're very strong. They've had the privilege of growing and learning from the graduates of last year. … They really realize how ready they are for those opportunities. Nobody wants to lose a Jocelyne Lemay or a Logan Halvorson, but what you have is younger players stepping up.

"I think for every loss we (gained something). I would have loved to kept that class around forever, but at the same time, they've taught us a lot and made us ready for this moment."

Scouting Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish, who are ranked sixth, opened last weekend with an 18-3 win over Marquette. Maddie Howe scored four goals to lead Notre Dame.

Last season, Notre Dame finished 14-5 and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

"We know they have a really athletic, competitive and fast team," Tisdale said. "What our focus is heading into Notre Dame is we both get a 90-second shot clock every time: What are you going to do with that 90 seconds? Who's going to capitalize the most times? Who can get the most stops? Who can transition the ball most effectively and get the most out of those 90 seconds is what it's all about. It doesn't matter the opponent, it's 90 seconds at a time."

Next
CMU will play its home opener on Sunday, Feb. 23 (noon) when it entertains Butler in a nonconference game.

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Players Mentioned

Natalie Bloniarz

Shannon Doyle

Kylee Frazier

Logan Halvorson

Dominique Hamman

Brianna Hart

Natalie Karlen

Jocelyne Lemay

Angela Palmer

Jessica Schuchardt