Freshmen forced to play big role on young team

The UNH women's lacrosse team may be young, but they are certainly not lacking in talent. Their freshman class has proven to be exceptionally strong, especially with their shortage of experience at the college level.

This year's freshmen include Amber Casiano, Casey Doyle, Chelsea Cyester, Jenny Simpson, Caitlin Tappan, Katie Kleinendorst, Heather Carr, Ally Stager, Cherelle Flynn, and Kathleen O'Keefe.  

According to head coach Michael Daly, Casiano has been leading the way as a top recruit at midfielder/attacker. While she may be performing well now, her season got off to a shaky start.  

"Earlier in the season, I thought Amber had a hard time adjusting to the college game," Daly said. "She didn't practice well and was inconsistent. Then, midway through the season she flipped the switch, and has now emerged as one of our top midfielder/attackers. She is living up to our expectations, and I think she's going to have a great four years here. " 

Casiano has won America East Rookie of the Week the last three weeks, and has been putting up great scoring production during that time. In the Wildcats' only game of last week, she recorded a career high in goals with three and points with four. So far this season, Casiano has tallied 10 goals and 2 assists for a total of 12 points.

While Casiano got off to a slow start, attacker Jenny Simpson adjusted very quickly to the college level. 

"Jenny came in ready for the college game," Daly said. "She really emerged as a leading goal scorer and playmaker on our attack unit. She led the way offensively for a long time and meshed well with the veterans on our team. She hurt her ankle, which set her back, but now she is starting to come around again late in the season."

Like Casiano, Simpson has also won America East Rookie of the Week honors three times this season. She received the award for the weeks of April 5th, March 8th, and March 29th. At this point in the season, she has recorded 17 goals and 7 assists for a total of 24 points.

Defender Ally Stager has also stood out among the freshman class this season.  

"We like to call Ally our ‘Swiss army knife,'" Daly said. "She can do it all.  She takes draws, wins draws, plays defense; she has all the tools, she just needs to develop her athleticism, speed, and footwork. She isn't physically ready for the college game yet, but she definitely has the game awareness for it."  

As a defender, Stager hasn't put up the numbers offensively that Casiano and Simpson have, but she has contributed significantly on the defensive end of the field.  She has been great at anticipating plays on defense, especially going for interceptions. This is impressive for a young player, especially someone who didn't come from a strong high school lacrosse program.  

"I dealt with a serious lack of coaching," Stager said. "Coming here, I knew I was going to have to listen a lot to try to pick up on everything. I had the attitude that I knew nothing, and that everything the coaches told me was the right thing to do."  

Like Casiano, goalkeeper Kathleen O'Keefe also got off to a slow start this season.  

"Kathleen wasn't really prepared at the start of the season, and didn't earn many opportunities to get into goal," Daly said. "Then, she started to figure out how to practice and prepare better, and once she did she earned the opportunity to play in games. Since then, she has blossomed into a starter for us. She's very athletic, and is fun and exciting to watch."  

O'Keefe attributes this hard-working mentality to her teammates. She has started in 8 games this year, compiling an 11.26 goals against average, a .424 save percentage, and a 4-5 record.  

"Being a goalie, you need to know that it's not always your fault when you let a ball in," O'Keefe said. "I'm really confident with the other players around me, and this has helped build my own confidence."   

Casey Doyle came in as a top-recruit defender this season for the Wildcats.

"I helped to recruit Casey two years ago as a defender to come right in and play right away for us," Daly said. "She's played a lot of minutes and started a lot of games. Her athletic instincts and lacrosse I.Q. are very high defensively, but she's still developing the explosive speed and footwork that we need her to have. She is one of the best communicators on the team, along with Ally D., and is definitely a future leader defensively."

Although she started off strong, Doyle admitted that she wasn't as comfortable as she seemed at first.  

"I was obviously a little nervous to start the season," she said. "It's a whole new atmosphere, a whole new place; I didn't really know what to expect."  

Along with these five young women, the freshman class as a whole has performed up to par this year.  

"We're all very happy that all of these freshmen are making an impact and peaking at the same time towards the end of the season," Daly said. "At the same time, I realize how hard it is for them to be thrown into the fire and have such high expectations."