Central Michigan University Athletics
Friday, February 11
South Bend, Ind.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
at
Notre Dame
Photo by: Keara Chaperon '22
Lacrosse Opens On Friday At Notre Dame
2/10/2022 4:14:00 PM | Lacrosse
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan lacrosse teams kicks off the 2022 season on Friday with a nonconference game at Notre Dame.
The Chippewas return more than a dozen mainstays from a squad that finished 9-6 last season and finished second, at 7-2, in the inaugural season for women's lacrosse in the Mid-American Conference.
That season was bittersweet for CMU: The Chippewas' win total marked the second-best season in the history of the program, which began in 2016. The Chippewas finished 7-2 and in second place in the MAC; both losses came to league-champion Robert Morris.
"There is a fire that still burns from last year," said Sara Tisdale, who has led the program since its inception. "They were disappointed with how last year played out. That competitive edge that they bring every single day is with a very sharp image of how that felt last year. No reminders from me are needed."
The league coaches fully expect the 2022 race to come down, again, to the Chippewas and the Colonials. CMU finished second in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll behind RMU. The Colonials received three first-place votes and totaled 32 points; CMU received two first-place votes and totaled 31.
Depth and experience rate highly among the Chippewas' strengths as they return more than a dozen upperclassmen including graduate student Hannah Potter, a 15-goal scorer in 2021.
Among the other top returning talents are All-MAC selections Brennan Paddy, Audrey Whiteside and Jillian Baldwin. Whiteside ranked third on the team a year ago with 25 goals while Paddy led the Chippewas with 60 draw controls.
After Friday's opener at Notre Dame, the Chippewas go to Louisville on Feb. 20 and then entertain Youngstown State on Wednesday, Feb. 23, in their home and MAC opener.
The across-the-board talent and experience level – and the depth, especially the depth – should enable the Chippewas to play the kind of game that Tisdale has always envisioned.
"The starting lineup's going to be extremely difficult to figure out on Friday, which is exactly the place we want to be," she said. "It's created a very competitive practice environment.
"Because we are such a deep program, we can wear teams down, we can play in transition very well, we are scrappy on groundballs, and we believe in playing a very clean and competitive game and being able to outlast opponents and that's going to put us in a very good position.
"You can't do that with a bench where you're only subbing two or three people. You really have to have a deep bench."
The Chippewas return more than a dozen mainstays from a squad that finished 9-6 last season and finished second, at 7-2, in the inaugural season for women's lacrosse in the Mid-American Conference.
That season was bittersweet for CMU: The Chippewas' win total marked the second-best season in the history of the program, which began in 2016. The Chippewas finished 7-2 and in second place in the MAC; both losses came to league-champion Robert Morris.
"There is a fire that still burns from last year," said Sara Tisdale, who has led the program since its inception. "They were disappointed with how last year played out. That competitive edge that they bring every single day is with a very sharp image of how that felt last year. No reminders from me are needed."
The league coaches fully expect the 2022 race to come down, again, to the Chippewas and the Colonials. CMU finished second in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll behind RMU. The Colonials received three first-place votes and totaled 32 points; CMU received two first-place votes and totaled 31.
Depth and experience rate highly among the Chippewas' strengths as they return more than a dozen upperclassmen including graduate student Hannah Potter, a 15-goal scorer in 2021.
Among the other top returning talents are All-MAC selections Brennan Paddy, Audrey Whiteside and Jillian Baldwin. Whiteside ranked third on the team a year ago with 25 goals while Paddy led the Chippewas with 60 draw controls.
After Friday's opener at Notre Dame, the Chippewas go to Louisville on Feb. 20 and then entertain Youngstown State on Wednesday, Feb. 23, in their home and MAC opener.
The across-the-board talent and experience level – and the depth, especially the depth – should enable the Chippewas to play the kind of game that Tisdale has always envisioned.
"The starting lineup's going to be extremely difficult to figure out on Friday, which is exactly the place we want to be," she said. "It's created a very competitive practice environment.
"Because we are such a deep program, we can wear teams down, we can play in transition very well, we are scrappy on groundballs, and we believe in playing a very clean and competitive game and being able to outlast opponents and that's going to put us in a very good position.
"You can't do that with a bench where you're only subbing two or three people. You really have to have a deep bench."
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