Women’s Lacrosse Prepares for 2023 Season

Elijah McDow Staff Writer

On Saturday February 4th, Villanova’s women’s lacrosse team made a short trip for a scrimmage against Delaware. Saturday’s scrimmage in Newark marked the start of a new season that will offi cially kick off on February 11th, when the Wildcats travel to Virginia to play William & Mary.

This season, the Wildcats are led by senior midfi elder Addie Fischer, and expectations are high for the Maryland native. Despite her team ending 2022 with a 5-11 record, last season was the best of Fischer’s career. She was named fi rst-team All-Big East, scoring 13 goals, recording three assists and 13 ground balls. As a conference star, Fischer is expected to be the leader of the team. Other players poised to make an impact include senior midfi elder Harriet Overend, graduate attacker Caroline Curnal and senior defender Molly Dunphey.

Now in her second season as the head coach of the Wildcats, Jill Batcheller looks to turn things around for the program after last season’s disappointing fi nish. This year’s team is full of experienced players, with multiple seniors whose leadership will be vital, as well as nine new freshmen who will be players to watch for the future.

Despite a rough start to life in the Big East, Batcheller’s resume suggests that rebuilding, and eventually fi nding success, often works in her favor. As the head coach at Bryant University, Batcheller led the Bulldogs to three conference championships and fi ve regular season championships, fi nishing her career there with a 77-33 record.

In 2019, Batcheller was hired to coach Drexel. At the time, it was a program in desperate need of a rebuild. By the time Batcheller left Drexel for Villanova, she had guided the Dragons to a 13-3 record in a season where they became nationally ranked and made the NCAA Tournament.

After the scrimmage on Saturday, there will be at least 16 games for the team to turn things around.

“Our seniors and fi fth years set the tone for us during the scrimmage,” Batcheller said. “I was also excited to see a lot of our freshman energy as well.”

On the schedule, there are several notable non-conference opponents that will help the Wildcats when they begin Big East play against UConn on April 5th.

Villanova has some huge tests early in the season, playing nationally ranked opponents such as No. 2 Maryland, No. 10 Denver, No. 16 USC and Navy, which was also considered for national ranking.

“The goal [playing these teams] is to expose our team to the speed of the game both in transition and within systems to prepare ourselves for our competitive Big East Conference,” Batcheller said.

These matchups will serve as a measuring stick for Batcheller, allowing her to evaluate her squad and see whether they can go toeto-toe with some of the best teams in the country.

The Big East Tournament is scheduled to begin on May 5th. The Wildcats are not just aiming to be at the tournament, but they are also going in with the mindset of becoming champions.

“My goals for the spring are to lead this team to believe in themselves and in each other,” Batcheller said.