PUEBLO, Colo. – A new era for Colorado State University women's lacrosse begins on Wednesday, March 8 as former player
Taylor Christensen will step onto the field as the program's new head coach as the ThunderWolves host Lewis University in a 5 p.m. non-conference match-up at Art and Lorraine Gonzales Stadium.
Christiansen, who played lacrosse for the Pack from 2015-19 and spent the 2020-21 seasons as an assistant coach, takes over for longtime head coach Monica Potter, who stepped down in late fall after serving as the school's coach from the program's inception in 2015.
"As we prepare for our first game, I remind my team that success comes from hard work outside of our games," Christensen said. "Our plan is to focus on playing smart, playing hard, and playing together as a team. And most importantly, having fun out there playing."
As a player for CSU Pueblo from 2016-19, Christensen, who is from Colorado Springs, Colo., and prepped at Discovery Canyon, scored 108 goals and added 34 assists for a total of 142 points as a midfielder for the Pack. She also took 236 shots, had five game winning goals, recorded 191 ground balls, caused 113 turnovers and had 224 draw controls. She is the school's all-time leader in ground balls (191), draw controls (224) and caused turnovers (113) and was a three-time All-RMAC selection, including culminating her career as a second team honoree as a senior in 2019.
Christensen's first Pack team will be short on depth as the team roster lists 15 players, but the team does return three of its top five point scorers from a season ago. The Pack posted a 3-13 record and a 3-9 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in Potter's final season in 2022.
Among the key returners for the Pack are senior midfielder
Caira Lessick (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City), who led the team in goals a season ago with 25 and added eight assists for 33 points. Lessick was also second on the team in shots with 62, second in ground balls with 24 and third in draw controls with 51.
In addition to Lessick, who has scored 50 goals in three seasons with the Pack, junior midfielder
Baylee Mee (Reno, Nev./Galena) scored 12 goals and led the team with 14 assists in 2022 for a total of 26. Mee also recorded a team-best 70 draw controls and had a team-leading 28 ground balls. The team's No. 4 goal scorer from last season also returns this year – senior midfielder/defender
Sedona Sargent (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome). Sargent scored 18 goals and added six assists for a total of 24 points a season ago. She also took 57 shots and scored on the team's two game winning goals.
While three of the team's top five point scorers from last season return, Christensen will need to a new goalie this season as all three goalies from last season's team did not return.
This year's roster lists only one goalie – sophomore
Naomi Price-Burton (Aurora, Colo./Grandview). Price-Burton was a defender as a freshman last season, but moved into the goalie position this season after the team's three goalies from last season did not return for their junior seasons.
The team's defense struggled last season as they allowed 252 goals in 15 games, which is an average of 16.8 goals per game. The Pack allowed double-digit goals in all but one game last season as they held Adams State to one goal in a 25-1 home win over the Grizzlies.
ABOUT LEWIS
Lewis University, who is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference and is located in Romeoville, Ill., comes into Wednesday's game having already played four games this season as the Flyers are sporting a 1-2 record prior to playing a game on Tuesday at Fort Lewis, before traveling to Pueblo. The Flyers opened the season with an 11-9 win at the University of Charleston, before suffering a 16-5 loss at Frostburg State and then falling 15-8 at home to Northern Michigan this past Friday.
The Flyers, who were tabbed to finish sixth in the Preseason GLVC Coaches' poll, also has a new coach this season as Colleen Kincaid as taken over as the Flyers' new coach. Kincaid, who played goalie collegiately at NCAA Division I UMass, came to Lewis after spending the past four years as an assistant women's lacrosse coach at Aurora (Ill.) University.
Kincaid's first team returns several key players from last season's team that went 4-10 overall with a 2-5 mark in the GLVC. The top returner this season is senior attacker Skylar Lucich, who scored 17 goals and had six assists in 14 games last season, while senior attacker Emily Meredith led the team in assists with 11 and also scored 10 goals a season ago.
This season, senior midfielder Paige Bracey leads the way offensively with five goals and one assist, while senior attacker Alyssa Davidson and senior midfielder Carlie Serritella have each scored three goals for the Flyers.
Lewis has played two goalies this season with the primary goalie being senior Kaitlyn Palmer. Palmer has allowed 34 goals and has recorded 26 saves and has a 14.86 goals allowed average. Junior Grace Schumucker is the other goalie that has played this season as she has allowed six goals and made five saves in two games and 42-plus minutes of action.
Wednesday's game will be the first-ever match-up between the two schools. Lewis will be the fifth current member of the GLVC that the Pack has played in women's lacrosse as they are 4-11 against current members of the league.
UP NEXT FOR PACK
Following Wednesday's home game with Lewis, the Pack will hit the road for two straight games this coming weekend (March 10-12) as they open RMAC play with a 4 p.m. game on Friday, March 10 in Salt Lake City, Utah, against Westminster, before traveling to Grand Junction, Colo., for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday, March 12 against Colorado Mesa. The Pack will play its next home game on Thursday, March 16 with a 2 p.m. contest against Rockhurst University.
