Wildcats Begin Lax Season Wednesday at Home vs. Va. Tech

Wednesday, February 10

Davidson, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Davidson College Athletics

Virginia Tech

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

Wildcats Begin Lax Season Wednesday at Home vs. Va. Tech

2/8/2016 1:10:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID

2016 Record Book (pdf)
Live Stats | Live Video
Davidson Photos.com

DAVIDSON, N.C. — The Davidson women's lacross team begins the program's 23rd season this Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. when they host Virginia Tech in Richardson Stadium.

It will be the second time in the past four years the 'Cats will be opening the season vs. the Hokies at home. This will be the 18th meeting overall between the two schools, as Davidson is 4-13 in the series. Va. Tech won the last meeting, 12-8, in 2013 and is currently on a six-game win streak in the series. The Hokies are coming off a 6-12 campaign last year.

In anticipation of the 2016 season, below is a look at the Season Preview....

Heading into their eighth season under head coach Kim Wayne, the 2016 Davidson lacrosse squad gears up for its second year in the Atlantic 10. Last year saw the Wildcats move from the Big South Conference to the A-10.

The Wildcats, who won the inaugural Big South Regular Season title and reached the tournament championship game both years they were in the league, bring back a solid core from last year's squad that went 3-5 in league play and 6-10 overall. Included in those returning are five of Davidson's top-seven scorers led by 20-point preformers Annie Brockett, Lucy Sexton, Emma Sissman and Nicole Pettiglio.

At the helm with Wayne will be the Wildcats' three captains: seniors Sissman and Holly Thomas along with junior Pettiglio.

Take a Moment to Talk About the Captains?
Coach Wayne: "Emma, Nicole and Holly have been amazing and are the true definition of what a captain should be. They lead by example in practice by pushing themselves through every drill. They demand more and expect more from their teammates because they know they are already giving 100% themselves. They are approachable and reliable, and I'm exited to see them lead this team this year."

What Are Some Key Factors For The Team's Success This Season?
Coach Wayne: "What held us back last year was depth in the midfield and consistency putting the ball away on attack. If we can stay healthy and finish the way we know how to, then I believe we can take the one goal losses from last year and flip them around in our favor. We have always been a tough, competitive team that works hard to fight until the end, but we need to play for two halves and start strong instead of relying on playing for one half and finishing strong."

2015 Quick Review
Last season, Davidson's first in the Atlantic 10, saw the 'Cats go 6-10 overall with a 3-5 record in conference. The 'Cats earned five of their six wins at home, going 5-4. They also finished the season strong, winning two of their last three games with victories against Saint Joseph's and St. Bonaventure.

Four Wildcats earned all-league honors. Senior Emily Rademacher and junior Thomas were named to the A-10 All-Second Team, while the freshmen duo of Paige Farrar and Rachel Hianik were two of 12 first-year players named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team.

Rademacher and fellow classmates Emily Cooke and Katy Boyle wrapped up their careers by putting their names in the record books. An all-around player, Rademacher ended her career with 89 goals and 36 assists for 125 points, which ranked in the top-10 all-time. She also finished with 142 draw controls, good for second-most in program history.

Cooke left Davidson as the program's all-time assist leader with 123 and second on the career points list with 198. She also left her name on the single-game record books for assists with 10 and is tied for most points with 11, both coming against Kennesaw State, Feb. 25, 2013.

Boyle ranked among some of the great Wildcat goalkeepers. She capped off her career by ranking first all-time in goals against average with a 9.56 mark, and just outside the top-five in total minutes and saves.

Talk About Replacing the Do-It-All Rademacher and School-Record Holder Cooke?
Coach Wayne: "I think the "do it all" nickname definitely suites Emily Rademacher (Erad) as she would pretty much do anything I asked as well as anything her teammates needed from her during the game. The only real way to "replace" Erad is to add freshmen, who combined can do the things she did for us on the field during her four years. Erad always had a gift to play like she was better, or thought she was better than anyone she was up against. You could see it in her fight and by how many times she would get knocked down but then get right back up again. I believe Erad left her mark on this team by making others believe that anything is possible as long as you're willing to work for it.

Emily Cooke (Cookie) will forever be one of the best players to come through the Davidson lacrosse program. When she wasn't scoring goals or assisting, she was telling her teammates where they should be and what they should be doing. She coached them on the field and did things former assistant Taylor Frink and I couldn't do at that moment. She left her mark by making sure the players below her were ready when she couldn't be used.
Similar to Erad, Cookie cannot be replaced, but I know that Christine, Annie Brockett, Lucy and whoever else ends up behind the crease will be ready because of what Cookie taught them, and continues to teach them to this day."

Senior Class
The senior class consists of six players this year. Leading the way are the two captains Thomas (A-10 All-Second Team) and Sissman (2014 All-Big South First Team). Joining them are attackers Sexton (career-high 26 points last year) and Jean Atkinson (started 19 of 28 career games), and defenders Maddy Sivilli (12 caused turnovers in career) and Veronica Fiorino (22 career groundballs).

What Are You Looking For From The Senior Class?
Coach Wayne: "I am always looking for my seniors to walk away from their four years having no regrets. That means working as hard as they can in practice so they can set an example for our younger players. It means coming out ready for every game and putting everything they have into every second they spend on the field. These six seniors have already lead by example in so many ways, so I hope to see them finish out the year leading their team to more A-10 wins than we had last year."

Offense- Midfielders & Attackers
The Wildcats return with a strong core of their offense after scoring 157 goals last year (9.81 a game). Leading the charge is the 20-goal scoring trio of Brockett, Sexton and Pettiglio, who combined for 69 goals and 76 points.

Sexton led the offense last year with a career-high 25 goals, while Brockett and Pettliglio each registerd personal bests with 22 apiece.

The Wildcats most experienced scorer returns in Sissman. The senior enters her final season with 97 goals, including 19 a year ago. In 2014, she registered a career-high 50 goals.

In addition, attacker Christine Molinari will look to take the next step after a solid freshman campaign when she scored six goals and assisted on three others in 12 games, half of them starts.

Manning the middle with Pettiglio is Paige Farrar and Morgan Burch. The duo totaled a combined 17 goals together with each playing in all 16 games.

Defense
The Wildcats' defense returns a good mix of experience, but they must replace their starting goalie the past two years, Boyle. had a nice final season with 125 saves and a 10.04 GAA. Seeing their first extended time between the pipes will be junior Dana Stasieluk and Rose Woolson. The duo have played just a combined four games during their careers. Stasieluk will be the first to try and replace Boyle, as she has played three games in two years and not allowed a goal during her 20 minutes of play.

Returning to help anchor the defense is Thomas. She had an outstanding junior campaign, setting career highs in groundballs (33), draw controls (21) and caused turnovers (21). A regular in the starting line, Thomas has started 40 of her 47 career games played. Assisting her will be Maddy Sivilli, Veronica Fiorino, Kacey Merlini and Hianik. Fiorino and Hianik played big roles on defense, starting 15 and 16 games, respectively. They combined for 30 groundballs and 12 turnovers. The Sivilli sisters played in six games combined last year and Maddy has seen action in 23 total games during her three-year career. She had a breakout sophomore season with 17 groundballs, eight draw controls and 12 caused turnovers.

Merlini will look to come back strong after she was forced to miss all but one game last year due to a season-ending injury. She played 15 games as a freshman in 2014.

Freshman Class
Davidson will break in six freshmen from the class of 2019. The class is comprised of five midfielders and a defender, while hailing from five different states.
"I expect this class to make an immediate impact, but what excites me the most is the depth we will have in the midfield," said Wayne.

2016 The Schedule
For the fifth time in the past six years, Davidson opens the season at home as it welcomes Virginia Tech, Feb. 10. It will be the second time in the past four years the 'Cats will be opening the season vs. the Hokies at home. This will be the 18th meeting between the two schools as Davidson is 4-13 in the series. Va. Tech won the last meeting, 12-8, and is on a six-game win streak. The Hokies are coming off a 6-12 campaign last year..

After that game, the 'Cats will have a stretch of playing seven of their next eight games at home. They will host non-conference opponents Winthrop (Fe. 28), Holy Cross (March 8), High Point (March 11), Lehigh (March 15) and Elon (March 19), while traveling to Kennesaw State, Feb. 20.

To finish out the stretch of home games, Davidson begins its second year in the Atlantic 10 with games against La Salle and Saint Joseph's, April 1-3. The Wildcats went 1-1 against both teams a year ago on the road, falling to the Explorers 8-7 before scoring a 13-10 win vs. the Hawks.

The 'Cats' remaining games will all be league contests. They will play five of the games on the road, first traveling to George Washington and George Mason, April 8-10. They then will close out the year, and the month of April, at Duquesne, St. Bonaventure and Massahusetts.

Davidson's two home games inbetween will feature VCU (April 15) and Richmond (April 17). It will be taking on the Rams for the first time in program history, while facing the Spiders for the ninth time since 1998.

The Atlantic 10 Tournament will run May 5-8 in Pittsburgh, Pa. at Rooney Field on the campus of Duquesne. This year the top six teams will advance to the tournament. Last year saw UMass capture its seventh consecutive A-10 Championship Title with a 8-4 win over Richmond, the second straight year both teams advanced to the championship game.

Talk About The Schedule?
Coach Wayne: "We open up against a very talented ACC team (Virginia Tech), but it's the exact way I wanted to open up our season. We need to see where we are and where we need to be in order to compete against the top programs in our conference. I believe we can compete against teams like Virginia Tech, which is why I put them on our schedule, and I think it's important for my team to know that as well.
While we have faced Kennesaw, Winthrop, HPU and Elon in the past, I'm excited to add new competition in Holy Cross and Lehigh. Playing in the A-10 for the first time last year meant playing against teams we have never faced before. I think it's important to implement change so my team knows how to adapt when something new is thrown at them."

Are There Any Special Events Set on The Schedule?
Coach Wayne: "We will host our annual SonnyStrong game Sunday, April 3 against St. Joe's. The game will benefit cervical cancer awareness and all proceeds from the shirts we sell will go directly to Stand Up 2 Cancer.

Our senior day will be held at home on Sunday, April 17 against Richmond. And last but not least, I know the team is looking forward to our trip in May to the UK. It's not exactly on the schedule, but we will compete against local and national teams, while touring Scotland and Ireland for nine days!"