Feb. 25, 2008

A new era of Bucknell women's lacrosse begins on Wednesday, as former Duke All-American Caline McHenry takes over a Bison program that has been on the cusp of making noise in the Patriot League but has not quite gotten over that proverbial hump.

McHenry's debut as Bucknell's head coach will be a challenging one, as the Bison welcome No. 16 Penn State to Graham Field for a 4 p.m. start. The Nittany Lions opened on Sunday with an 8-7 loss to Temple.

The Bison return seven starters and 14 lettermen from last year's team that finished 7-9 overall and 2-3 in the Patriot League but missed a postseason tournament berth by one game. Those returnees accounted for 154 of the team's 169 goals in 2007. In fact, the top seven scorers from last season are all back, including First Team All-Patriot League selection Bonnie Buechel, who is coming off a terrific 36-goal, 49-point campaign.

While the offense returns mostly intact, Bucknell will have to replace its top defensive midfielder in four-year starter Lauren Kremer, as well as starters on close defense and in goal. Most importantly, the Bison took advantage of fall practice to get to know the style of their new coach.

"It's been a process, but we are really getting to know each other," said McHenry, a former Tewaaraton Trophy semifinalist at Duke who served as an assistant coach at Davidson last season. "They know what I'm about, and I'm getting to know all their personalities. There was a good mutual respect this fall."

"Our on-field communication improved tremendously throughout the fall, and as a result our ball movement was much better. As we continue to work on the new offense, our consistency needs to improve. We spent a lot of time this fall on stickwork, getting back to some basics. Defensively, our communication, positioning and aggressiveness improved significantly."

One hurdle McHenry and new assistant coach Gregg Gebhard faced in the fall was the absence of two juniors who were studying abroad: Buechel (Spain) and Sarah Collins (France). Buechel and Collins (79 points in last two seasons) are two of the league's top scorers.

Without the international study duo, it was a very young Bison team on the field this fall, with only two seniors and one junior on the field. McHenry admits that she will be challenging the first and second-year players to play like upperclassmen very quickly.

"We continue to work on gauging each other's strengths and weaknesses," said the first-year head coach. "Who are the good dodgers? Who are the feeders? Where do your teammates like to shoot from? Those are all things that young teams need to learn, and I think we made big strides there in the fall. Now we need to keep progressing as the season approaches."

Despite the early transitional phase that comes along with a coaching change, McHenry was pleased to learn that her new squad has high expectations for itself.

"Their goal is to win the Patriot League championship," McHenry stated, "and that's a great goal to strive toward. Every day they come to practice and they know what they are working for."

That hard work will be put to the test right away against a very challenging schedule that kicks off with Wednesday's home game against Penn State, which finished last season ranked No. 18 nationally. The first three games and four of the first five will be at home at the beautiful new Graham Field, including a quick Patriot League test against American on March 8. In fact, the Bison have three conference tilts prior to the end of March, including a showdown with defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., on March 22.

That is the first of four late-March road games in a row, one of which takes the Bison to Columbus, Ohio for a return date with Ohio State (the Buckeyes played at Graham Field last season). In April Bucknell has home league games with Colgate and Lehigh, as well as its first-ever contest against Navy, which has full varsity status for the first time in 2008 and will compete in the Patriot League.

The top four teams qualify for the Patriot League Tournament, which will be played at the home of the highest seed on Apr. 25 and 27.

And now a closer look at the 2008 Bison, by position:

ATTACK

Bucknell will have plenty of talent returning at attack in 2008, led by junior Sarah Collins and sophomore Carol Donahue.

Collins scored a team-high 41 points (28g, 13a) as a freshman in 2006, including a 10-point explosion in a Patriot League victory over American, then she backed it up with 38 points (18g, 20a) in 2007. Collins led the team and ranked fourth in the league in assists last spring, proving to be equally dangerous as both a feeder and a finisher.

Donahue tied Collins for second in the team scoring race with 38 points (23g, 15a) a year ago, when she started every game up front and produced a five-goal game and two four-goal games.

"Carol Donahue is going to be huge for us," McHenry predicts. "We are looking to her to set up the attack. She is a strong feeder, but she can dodge as well. I've heard great things about Sarah."

Two other returnees at attack are senior Ashley Flood and sophomore Paige Kasschau. Flood has played in 35 career games, the most among the attack unit, and has nine goals and three assists. She won the team's Coaches Award last season for her hard work and dedication to the program. Kasschau played in every game last season as a freshman, including four starts, and had 10 goals and five assists with a hat trick against Saint Francis (Pa.).

"Ashley has mostly been a reserve at Bucknell, but she is a senior who understands what it takes to be successful," said McHenry. "She is a very good communicator, and her teammates are drawn to her as a leader."

Ask McHenry about her attack unit and it does not take her long to begin praising freshman Julia Braun, who was one of the stars of the fall season. A supremely talented first-year player who can line up at either attack or midfield, Braun was an All-American at North Rockland High School in Southern New York.

"Julia was probably our best overall player in the fall," McHenry lauded. "She is really fast with a great stick, and she has the potential to be a great one-on-one attacker. And she is just as strong defensively. She is going to be huge for us in transition. She has great field vision. She is young, but she just 'gets it.'"

Promising freshmen Becca Devine and Lauren Peyser, both products of terrific high school lacrosse programs, round out the attack unit.

MIDFIELD

Bucknell teams have traditionally received a great deal of scoring punch from its middies, and this years group should keep that habit going thanks to three potentially explosive returnees in junior Bonnie Buechel and sophomores Chelsea Peters and Alison Heffernan.

Buechel is coming off a fantastic sophomore season in which she earned First Team All-Patriot League honors for the second year in a row. She led the team and ranked seventh in the Patriot League in scoring with 49 points on 36 goals and 13 assists, and Buechel also took care of a lot of the dirty work in the midfield. She led the conference and ranked 11th in the nation in draw controls with 51, including a school-record 11 in one game, and she also collected 31 ground balls.

Peters missed most of fall ball with a foot injury, but when healthy she is another dynamic weapon in the midfield. Peters had 31 goals last season, the most by a Bucknell freshman since Suzanne Raffaele, the programs all-time leading scorer, had 35 in 2000. She was especially productive later in the year, scoring 27 points (22G, 5A) in the final eight games, including a six-goal performance against Saint Francis (Pa.) and a four-goal, two-assist effort in a Patriot League win over Lafayette. Peters ranked 11th in the league in goals per game and 17th in points per game.

"Just watching her for a week or two, I could tell Chelsea has the ability to be an impact player," lauded McHenry. "She is very quick, with a good stick."

Heffernan played in 12 games with seven starts as a rookie in 2007, and she produced 15 goals and one assist. Her biggest tally was the game-winner with 1:15 to play in a 13-12 road win at Lehigh. Sophomore Stephanie Stevens had a goal and two assists in eight games last season and will also have a chance to increase her playing time.

McHenry is very high on the group of freshman midfielders, in particular walk-on Michelle Milot, who had a tremendous fall season.

"Michelle just works so hard," said McHenry. "She is not super-fast, but she gets the job done. She is a good defender and is going to be big in transition."

Newcomers Andi King, Ashley St. John and Laura Van Schaack will also compete for playing time.

"Laura is a good player who is going to see a lot of time," McHenry forecasted. "Ashley is very fast and a hard worker. She is young and has a lot of learning to do, but she is going to be key in the midfield for us."

DEFENSE

Senior Lauren Deitrich and junior Catherine Barry, both named co-captains last week, are the lone returning starters on defense. Deitrich is the most experienced player on the team, having started every game during her first three years at Bucknell. The versatile defender has earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors in each of the last two seasons, ranking among the league leaders in all of the possession statistics. In 2007 Deitrich led the league and ranked third in the nation in caused turnovers with 43, and she was second on the team and fourth in the league in draw controls with 32.

Dietrich is also a dangerous offensive player, and she ranked fifth on the team in scoring last year with 18 points (14g, 4a). She has 39 career points, including a memorable four-goal, five-point showing in a win over American during her junior year.

"L.D. is clearly our defensive leader," said McHenry. "She is very vocal, understands the game and communicates well with her teammates. She has a great sense of the field and always knows where she is supposed to be."

Barry has made 30 starts in her first two seasons at Bucknell, including all 16 on defense last season. She ranked fourth on the team in ground balls with 29 and third in caused turnovers with 19, and she once again figures to be part of the starting cast in 2008.

"Catherine is a very solid defender, and in contrast to Lauren Deitrich is more of a quiet leader," said McHenry. "She is very coachable and leads by example."

Sophomores Kendall Thibeault and Erin Turner and freshman Christina Garman will compete for playing time.

"Kendall and Erin both had good fall seasons and both have strong skills," McHenry noted. "Erin was playing very well at the end of the fall, so I am anxious to see her this spring."

GOALIE

If only due to lack of college experience, the goalie position is a concern for Bucknell entering 2008. The Bison open the season with just one netminder in freshman Alyssa DeLorenz, who is the very first Texan to play lacrosse at Bucknell. A four-year varsity starter, DeLorenz helped lead Plano East High School to the state semifinals in 2006 and 2007.

"Alyssa progressed very well in the fall, and she understands what she needs to do to keep improving at the college level," said Gebhard, who works daily with the Bison goalies. "She is a very good stopper with fast hands. We are working on a few technical things in that area, in addition to improving her passing skills and being more vocal behind the defense. She has a great attitude and approach to the game, however, and I think she has a chance to be an excellent Division I goalie."