Spring break is only a few days away, and once again, the UNH women’s lacrosse team will be hitting the road for some unfamiliar competition.
Before the ‘Cats begin their travels, they have some more immediate business to attend to. On Friday, UNH will battle the Univeristy of Massachusetts Amherst Minutemen at Wildcat Stadium. Still looking for the first win of the season, the Wildcats will face off against the Minutemen at 2 p.m. Game planning will be the biggest point of emphasis according to head coach Sarah Albrecht.
“Our goal is to make sure that we’re following the game plan… That’s been our nemesis the past five games,” Albrecht said. “It’s really killed us because we’ve taken each others’ [one-on-ones] we’ve taken each others spots so until we clear that up we won’t be getting any clearer lanes to the net.”
UMass currently holds a 2-3 overall record with wins coming against Jacksonville University 14-13 and the University of Connecticut 10-9 in overtime. UMass won the last matchup against the Wildcats at Garber Field in Amherst by a 16-4 final score.
Beyond Friday, UNH travels out West to visit two California Division I lacrosse programs for two games over the break. On Monday, March 13, UNH heads to Los Angeles to take on the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans. Hailing from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the Trojans are currently the No. 6 ranked team in the NCAA Divison I rankings. Sporting a 3-1 overall record, USC has got off to a successful start, which includes a win over No. 17 Northwestern University.
The following Wednesday, the ‘Cats will head down to San Diego to take on the San Diego State University Aztecs. The Aztecs currently hold a three-game winning streak and will play St. Josephs University on March 10 before meeting the Wildcats.
The road trip continues a season trend that the Wildcats have adopted the past couple of years. Last season, the ‘Cats traveled to New York and New Jersey to take on Monmouth University and Manhattan College. The year prior UNH traveled to the Rocky Mountains to take on the University of Denver and the University of Colorado.
At this point in the season, Albrecht explains it is not all about wins and losses, moreso doing the little things correctly and growing as a team as the season progresses. With a winless record heading into the next game, the ‘Cats have to execute fundamentally before they can focus on the bigger picture.
“It’s not really about the wins and losses right now. It’s more about us and how we are not executing how we need to execute,” Albrecht said. “That’s been the biggest frustration.”
The west coast trip will be exciting for the program, however, Albrecht is taking the New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick approach.
“We’re just focused on UMass,” Albrecht simply put.
The ‘Cats will play UMass on Friday before heading out West for the first of two games out in California on Monday, March 13.
