With another season underway here @ Siena, we are ready to begin another year of our season blog. I first want to thank you all for keeping up to date with our program and for being loyal fans.  We have been working hard during our off season and preseason, and are ready to #PUSHthelimits while continuing our success. First up, Senior Captain Lauren Smith with our first entry of 2016.

Thank you and look forward to a great season!

GO SAINTS!
Bryana Borrelli
Head Women's Lacrosse Coach

A message from Senior GK Danielle Delisio:

We entered our third and final "season" hot off a four game win streak tied for the second longest win streak in program history. This season, like all others has had its ups and downs, but adversity is what fuels the fire. We came together at LIU Brooklyn and ran away with our last pre-conference win. 
   Entering MAAC play we began to reload and refocus with an entire week of preparation before Fairfield. We weren't able to come away with a win, but we were able to learn the aspects of our game that weren't successful and make adjustments to put ourselves in a more successful position to play against Manhattan. 
   Our game against Manhattan sure wasn't a pretty one but a win is a win. Coming away with our first win in the MAAC this season is a step forward in the right direction, but we have a strong determination and fire lead by our coaching staff to never be satisfied and to strive for higher excellence. We are fortunate to have a coaching staff that has such whole hearted belief in the talent of our team and the success we are capable of.
   We've reached a bit of a rut after a tough loss to Monmouth Saturday, but reaching our rock bottom as a team sparks a whole new fire in our eyes. Everyone was able to go home Easter Sunday to spend some much needed family time and refocus for Canisius on Wednesday. We need to get back to the basics. Bry always tells us success will come when we "buy into the system" meaning to trust what we're taught. Like the previous blogs have pointed out, the strong emphasis on hard work, hustle, and accountability really sets in at this point in our season. This is the core philosophy of the new era of Siena Women's Lacrosse. Our team is capable of outstanding achievements and I full heartedly believe that. We have both the coaching and personnel to do some major damage the rest of this season. This is the turning point that falls into our hands, so keep watching. Nobody said winning comes easy. 

-Danielle DeLisio #16

"Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly."

As of today, we stand at a 4-4 win-loss record coming off of a three game winning streak.  Our first game of the streak was against UMass-Lowell where we beat them 18-1.  The win set program records in both margin of goals, as well as goals allowed! Every one of us was able to contribute to some play on the field which always makes for a great experience!

 

Oh and we can’t forget the stellar team picture we took before the game :)

The following Saturday, we proceeded onto St. Bonaventure where we hung on for a one-goal win of 12-11.  This wasn’t our best game because of our sloppy play and several uncharacteristic mistakes we made.  However, great teams always find a way to win and we did just that, managing to hold off a scrappy St. Bonaventure team.  This was an overnight trip so it consisted of some long bus rides and our first hotel stay.  When we got up to Olean, New York we had dinner as a team at a nice Italian restaurant called Angees (with some March madness on in the background)! 

 

Our most recent win was one of my favorites.  We beat a great Binghamton team 12-3.  This felt like the Siena Lacrosse that we all know we have the potential to be and have been working towards for the last seven months.  We came out guns blazing and dominated in all aspects of the game.  The energy and intensity was where it needed to be right from the beginning through to the end. 

 

Our next battle is against LIU Brooklyn this Saturday.  Our toughest challenge thus far as a team has been playing 60 minutes of the lacrosse we know we’re capable of two games in a row.  Therefore, if we do so on Saturday we will not only get another tally in the W column, but it will be a huge step forward for us as a team.

 

The team is playing well and definitely enjoying our recent wins, but we know we still have lots of work to put in.  As Lindsey often reminds us “remember how you got there”.  The future success of the season will not be something unearned.  We will have to continue to work and push ourselves past our limits.  The greatest athletes and teams use their successes as building blocks rather than destinations.  We have a road ahead of us that will surely have its fair share of adversity, but we will strive to use this only to make us stronger because a season is a series of battles.

 

I have to say that this team is making a change and truly coming into its own.  The overall mentality, work ethic, and refusal to settle have changed for the better.  We have branched into a new era and continue to earn the respect we deserve all while turning some heads.  We hope to take this momentum and run with it into the end of our non conference schedule and through MAAC play.  Each and every game from here on out will be a fight but we’re most definitely up for it.  If there’s one thing that being an athlete can teach you it is that these battles have the potential to create some of your proudest moments.  This family we have built and the ride we’re on is truly an honor to be a part of.

 

Until next time! GO SAINTS!!

Shannon O’Connor (OC)

A note from Junior Captain Morgan Gallagher...          
This past week we were able to have a full five days of practice in order to get ready for the upcoming games. We kept busy by starting off the week with the Manchester (our run test) in order to keep up with our fitness.  As the week went on we became more focused on the technical aspects of our game.
            Saturday we traveled to Rhode Island for our game against Bryant, who last year won the NEC conference and competed in the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately we fell short with a final score of 9-8.  This was not one of our best performances as a team, but we have learned from the mistakes made in the game and are looking to bounce back for our game on Wednesday against UMass Lowell and Saturday against St. Bonaventure. In order to do so we have been focusing on working as a team and sticking to our system of play. We pride ourselves on being a team who puts heart and hustle in every play and if we can stick to this we have the opportunity to be very successful in these upcoming competitions.

A message from Junior Captain Lauren Smith...

Athletic seasons are divided into a small series of multiple checkpoints that ultimately, if we are successful, can be connected to culminate into a championship season. Our first checkpoint was our preseason training and conditioning . We all worked hard and this team is the best conditioned Siena Women's Lacrosse team ever. 

Our second checkpoint is our non-conference season. Although we only have one win at this juncture, we can take away some positives from each of the games we have played. We have improved each game as we benefit from the outstanding coaching we are receiving this season. 

We need to strive toward continuous improvement of all the game components. There will be games where we may not be the best individual athletes on the field, but as a "team" we know we can outwork and out- hustle anyone we play. We just have to trust our coaching and believe in one another. Everything we do we must do with HUSTLE, HARD WORK and ACCOUNTABILITY. Whether it is watching film, 7v7, clearing, lifting, ground balls, swimming, etc., we need to see each of these components as a means to the end and give 100 percent at all times. We need to continue to help each other and help motivate one another. I want to thank each of you for being there for me this season. You ROCK as teammates. Let's collectively keep this up. 

Our home opener vs BU...Hats off to our athletic staff for getting us indoors. I think we surprised ourselves a bit during this game and saw early indications of signs of good things to come. Our team has unstoppable potential.

At Colgate....what can I say...it will be a game that will long be remembered and talked about because of the conditions. I hope we get a chance to play them again next year; I'm confident the outcome will be different. We learned a lot! 

Vermont at home--we let that one get away; we fought in that game. Too many little mistakes got the best of us. But, again, there were some positives to build upon.

CCSU- best team effort in my 3 years on the team...highlighted by the Mossop takeover party. She had a hat trick within the first 6 minutes of the game! She completed the game with 7 goals, yes, 7! Two of the other seniors, OC and Alyssa also put on quite the show with both having hat tricks! Sarah had an amazing assisting game, saw all the open girls at all the right times. This game wasn’t all about our attack though, as our defense and goaltending was outstanding. We really knew that we had each others backs out there. The vibes were good on the field for everyone;you could really see the team chemistry we have off the field carry on. Everyone got into the game, so overall this game was an outstanding team effort.

We finished the weekend with a couple days off of lacrosse. A lot of the girls went home to see their families and get some rest.

Thanks coaches for this spring break treat!

Coming up --- time to get back to work and see if we win back to back. Bryant is a team very similar to Siena . They will have seen our CCSU film so you can bet they will make counter adjustments.  The winner of this game will be who works harder in practice all week and who has the fewest number of turnovers during the game. I'm confident this will be US. Let's bring it hard all week and be rewarded on Saturday with victory number two. 

GO SAINTS!!!

A MESSAGE FROM SENIOR CAPTAIN JULIA SIRIANNI:


Over the past month or so, we have been working very hard and making great strides in becoming the best we can be for the 2015 season. Between work outs at the gym, Afrims, and being outside, we continue to get better each and every day. The team this year is a special team made up of hard working girls that have the will, the desire and the commitment to do what it takes to win! This past weekend we played Boston University and came up a little short, losing 13-9. With that being said, we put forth a great effort and played them even for most of the game. We continued to fight all game keeping it close right to the end.  The energy, hard work and hustle was evident throughout the entire game. We will continue to work hard every day and when our MAAC play comes around, we are going to turn some heads!! Our ultimate goal is to make the MAAC conference tournament. This season is going to be a special one especially with the new atmosphere our coaches have instilled in us……. which is, hard work, hustle and accountability.  We know what is expected of us, it’s not perfection, but rather control what you can control and the rest will work itself out. We are all looking forward to a great season and are excited it’s finally here!

Go Saints!!