After months of late-night practices, ice bags, injuries and exhaustion, the women’s lacrosse team will take on the University of Puget Sound in its first conference game since April 19 of last year.
Linfield will host the University of Puget Sound at 1 p.m. March 7 at Maxwell Field.
The last time the Wildcats faced the Loggers, they fell hard in a 52-26 defeat.
The Linfield program has lost five strong senior players since last season. With recent graduates such as Sammy Smith, who led the team with 40 goals as an offensive powerhouse, and Michelle Doris, who helped hold the team together through her veteran status, not returning to the field this spring, it will be up to the returning members to boost team performance and keep everyone focused.
“Our team is a lot closer than we have been in previous years, both on the field and off,” senior defender Ashley Johnson said.
Johnson is returning for her fourth and final season of wearing her purple jersey as one of the team’s defenders. She said her main goal for this season is to “crush, pulverize and destroy” Pacific University both times Linfield plays it, she said.
Coach Tim Hart says Johnson and teammate senior defender Christina Crane will be two players to watch as the seasons continues.
“[They] have really developed their game over the last three seasons,” Hart said.
With eight freshmen joining the team this spring, the group has a large number of newcomers. Among the new recruits are midfielder Mariah Jones and defenders Gabi Nygaard and Katie Keith.
Although the team only won four of 12 matches last spring, Linfield is ready to start a new chapter. It’s under the direction of Hart, who is in his second year as head coach. He has been preparing his team to enter the first conference match with strength and aggression.
“We have implemented fairly complex schemes on offense, defense and transition that have allowed us to elevate our game,” he said. “Our experience is allowing us to continue to develop those skills to achieve a higher level of performance.”
Hart is no stranger to the program or the sport. He spent four years serving as head coach for Linfield’s men’s club lacrosse team and as assistant coach of the club for five years before that.
However, with a relatively young team, much will be determined in its first match March 7. Johnson said the ’Cats are ready to showcase the work they’ve put in.
“These are the type of games we have been working so hard for since January,” Johnson said. “Everyone is ready to see how we play in a full-length game, and I think everyone is ready to put up a good game against the University of Puget Sound.”
The overall team feeling about the game this weekend is excitement.
“We are going to be a stronger team and a bigger threat to teams we are going to play,” Johnson said. “We have a solid offense that is biting at the chance to unleash against our opponents, and our defense hasn’t looked this good for as long as I have been here, which is four years now.”

Nic Miles
Sports reporter Nic Miles can be reached at [email protected]