Women’s lacrosse in hope of postseason run

 

By Greg Patuto | Published May 8, 2017

Before the season began, head coach Jordan Trautman had one thing in mind and that was for her team to make it back to the postseason. With conference play winding down, the women’s lacrosse team is right where they need to be.

The Cougars are 14 games into their season and hold a record of 9-5, 2-2 in conference play. They currently hold that fourth and final spot in the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs. The team’s offense is off to a hot start in conference, scoring 55 goals total in four games. The offense is led by junior Emily Stasuk, who has scored 42 goals and has 52 total points, both team highs.

“We play really well as a unit,” Trautman said of her team. “It’s not one person having to do all of the work, it’s really a lot of different people contributing and that makes the offense flow really nicely.”

The Cougars are looking to get back in the conference tournament and make some noise. It will not be easy though with the competition they will have to face.

TCNJ, who is ranked number one in the country, and Montclair State have proven to be the best teams in the conference. TCNJ has a long history of winning the NJAC tournament and even winning a few games in the National tournament but the Cougars feel confident they can win.

“As far as having the skill level, I definitely think we can make big things happen,” said Trautman. “We just have to put our mental and physical games together but this is a team that could get in a surprise people.”

The women’s lacrosse team at Kean has never won the NJAC tournament. Coaching in her fifth season at Kean, Trautman has made the postseason three times including one trip to the ECAC tournament.

With just two conference games left, Kean will be looking to pick up wins and improve their record even more. Both of their losses were close, including a 10-9 loss to Stockton, these are games they will need to win if they want to have a chance. “I think it’s just about having some maturity and finishing those types of games,” said Trautman. “It’s all about making sure you’re playing all 60 minutes not just 30 or 40.”

The Cougars will end conference play on April 29 against top ranked TCNJ. The NJAC tournament begins on May 3 and the championship is held May 6.

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