Starting their season with the fourth-place ranking in the pre-season SCIAC poll, Occidental’s lacrosse team is optimistic about their ability to challenge assumptions and move up in the conference, according to goalie Charlotte Dreyfus (sophomore).
“We are all in a super competitive mindset and definitely want to compete in the SCIAC — not just for the fourth seed that we’re in right now,” Dreyfus said. “We can be even better than that.”
Dreyfus said in order to be competitive this spring, the team will build on their pre-season work and goals. According to Dreyfus, the team’s central objectives fall under three pillars: intensity at all times, commitment to the details and support.
“Number one is intensity at all times,” Dreyfus said. “We want to have intensity during practice, so we have game-like situations.”
According to attacker Callie Lovekin (sophomore), practicing with purpose is what prepares the team for tough match–ups, such as their recent home opener against Redlands. Although Occidental fell 12-6 against Redlands Feb. 14, Lovekin said the Tigers put up a fight.
“It was a pretty intense game,” Lovekin said. “It was a really fast game, and we are pretty evenly matched teams. We’re gonna get them next time, that’s for sure.”
According to Dreyfus, the team played hard until the final minute of the game against Redlands.
“We never gave up,” Dreyfus said. “Morale was still definitely high at the end, and we knew we were in a good place because we were playing as a team. There are definitely things [we] have to work on, but we know what those [things] are, so [the game was] a really good starting point.”
The SCIAC landscape looks different this year, as the Whittier College lacrosse team is no longer operational, according to Lovekin. Without Whitter, the Tigers will only face five SCIAC teams this season.
“We spend a week preparing [for each game],” Lovekin said. “Our games are pretty spread out because there are only so many teams to play. I really want to win. But then again, all the other SCIAC teams are thinking the same thing. It really does come down to who wants it more.”
Lovekin said the team’s second pillar, commitment to the details, is essential to how the team will move through the first round of SCIAC play.
“[We need to] think about the bigger picture of gameplay,” Lovekin said. “When you’re playing [other] teams, catching and throwing needs to be second nature; it has to be an extension of your body at that point.”
Captain and defender Ellie Einstein (junior) said commitment to the details means going back to basics, such as ball handling and conditioning.
“After our warm-up and stretching, we [practice] five to 10 minutes of a basic skill […] which we didn’t do last year,” Einstein said. “10 minutes of power shooting for attackers, or footwork, every single day to work on those little details so it just becomes second nature.”
The third pillar — support — shows up both on and off of the field, according to Einstein. As a leader on the team, Einstein said she takes this goal very seriously.
“I’m trying to focus on energy and positivity […] because our team is very vibe and energy-centered,” Einstein said. “If we have high energy and good vibes, we usually play well.”
According to Dreyfus, one of the ways the team supports each other is through coming up with creative cheers before each game. Dreyfus said these small but consistent manifestations of support are essential to the team’s energy and success.
“[At practice and games] we started high-fiving each other and saying ‘Support, support’ because it is one of [the] things that we are trying to focus on,” Dreyfus said.
According to Lovekin, the team is also supported by their coaching staff and head coach Sierra Slack ‘18. Lovekin said Slack and the other coaches have helped create and solidify the team’s pillars going into this season.
“It is really nice to see [Slack] bring forth the traditions of Occidental lacrosse,” Lovekin said. “She understands the heart and soul of it. We take a lot of pride in our team, in our heart, the way we play, our spirit [and] our culture.”
While the team is focused on supporting each other, Einstein said they also appreciate it when their fans come out to watch their games.
“Come watch,” Einstein said. “We love when people are at our games […] We’re [contenders for] the SCIAC playoffs […] just like these other teams — we are lit, and we are in it.”
Occidental faces Pomona-Pitzer Feb. 18. The Tigers hope to break Pomona-Pitzer’s five-year SCIAC winning streak, and according to Dreyfus, the team is hungry for a win.
“We really can [face off with] high-level teams like [Pomona],” Dreyfus said. “We play good games at Pomona because we’re playing intense lacrosse, and we’re matching that fire. We [lost] to Redlands, but our spirits [were] not crushed. We’re still ready to try to beat the best team.”
Contact Nora Youngelson at youngelson@oxy.edu.
