Women's Lacrosse

By Shatarah Ramirez
Special to howard-bison.com

The 2008 season will be another of reconstruction and growth for the women's lacrosse team. Perhaps the biggest news for the Lady Bison this year is the hiring of a new head coach. At the close of the 2007 season former coach Marguerite Lanaux submitted her resignation. Upon her departure, the university's athletic department set out on a seven-month search for a replacement, and found that replacement in Maryland resident Jamie McGettigan.

McGettigan comes to us from Annapolis, Maryland, as both a fitness expert and seasoned lacrosse player. She herself is a team member on the elite Annaplax Women's Lacrosse Club, and has several years of combined playing and coaching experience at various levels of competition. 

Coming off a difficult 2-11 season last year, the Lady Bison, as a team, are excited about the new coach. "It's always good to breathe new life into a program that traditionally has struggled," Said Lanaux. "The change, while requiring that all the ladies be flexible and patient, also provides them with an opportunity to turn things around."  McGettigan has a straightforward approach for her first season at the helm. "I have simple philosophies; I want a player's best effort on the field and in the classroom. I demand respect, and expect the girls to respect themselves and each other. Other than that, success takes organization and hard work. That's what I hope to achieve with this team," explains McGettigan.

Leading the efforts this year are seniors Candace Bouknight, Bianca Lamar, Sashah Ramirez, and Alanah Webb, each of whom are four-year starters. The role they will play this season is crucial, as the team will feel the effects of losing four seniors and solid players to graduation last May, including 2007 leading scorer Iram Abdullah and 2005 MVP Shannon Morris.

The Players

The lacrosse team will look to its captains and seniors for leadership this year. At the forefront are captains Sakita Holley, Sashah Ramirez, and Alanah Webb.

Holley is a junior out of Willingboro, New Jersey and the youngest of the three captains. This will be her third year with the team as an attack player, though she has eight total years of playing experience. Her strengths lie in scoring at crucial moments of the game, almost as though she can put the ball in the cage on cue. Holley not only hopes to become a better overall player, but also wants the team to win more games.

Sashah Ramirez is a senior and fourth year player from Denver, Colorado. She is the strongest defensive weapon the team has, playing right defensive wing in the midfield. Combining her speed with her knack for gaining great positioning, Ramirez will use her nine years of experience to help her team become positive, supportive, and successful.

Alanah Webb, a senior from Baltimore, Maryland also has nine years of experience, including three with the Lady Bison. Webb will once again be one of the most versatile players on the team. She spans the field, playing center, attack wing, and defensive wing. She hopes the team performs to its full potential and finally gets recognized for its accomplishments. "This team can be of benefit to Howard and a source of inspiration for the entire African-American athletic community," Webb said.

Candace Bouknight is another senior and four-year starter out New Jersey. Bouknight brings superb speed, sharp shot accuracy and solid defense to the field this year. Having played for ten years, she is another veteran that plays midfield and has the ability to adjust to different areas of the field. Bouknight, like many of the other players, simply wants to improve as an individual and as a team.

Bianca Lamar, the last senior on the squad, is a stalwart at the goalie position. Lamar, out of Freeport, New York, has been playing for eight years. As one of the most consistent players on the team, she returns this season having started for the last two seasons. The 2006 MVP has averaged 8-12 saves per game over the last three seasons and looks to improve her average this year. "Of course I want to win," she says, "but I also hope to pass on a legacy and some new traditions to the new players."

Lauren Rivers, though only a sophomore, is the only remaining player on the team with more than four years of experience. She has played midfield since the seventh grade, and hopes to continue in the position this year. Rivers hopes that the team improves not only athletically and in its ability to win, but she also wants to see the girls' characters grow. "I'd like to see us get beyond the personal issues to work as a strong, cohesive unit. I think that will help us win games also."

Though the team will have six members with highly developed skills and several years of combined experience, it will be countered by youth and inexperience. The rest of the team is comprised of girls who have little or virtually no experience playing lacrosse. It remains one of the biggest challenges of the program, as the lacrosse team is one that was built on the shoulders of walk-ons. "It can put the girls that have played for years in a difficult position sometimes. We want to be able to recruit the type of players that can successfully compete at the Division I level, but Howard has never been a university with the support and resources to do so effectively, McGettigan said. "We have to fill the roster and the only way we can do that is to open the program to walk-ons."

Leading the walk-on crew is junior Nyla Funderburk from Willingboro, New Jersey. This will be her second year playing lacrosse after having walked on last season, and she will again contribute to the team's defensive game. "This year, I hope we will gain the cohesiveness needed to overpower any team we play and the diligence to play each game as if it were our last," Funderburk says.

Alnisha Minter-Harris is a new walk-on this season, but she brings four years of playing experience with her to the Bison. She is another team member from Willingboro, New Jersey, and hopes to play right defensive wing in the midfield. Though new to the team, she has high hopes for the season. "My ultimate goal is to become a key player, while I bond with my teammates, and work to be a role model for my fellow Howardites."

The team will be rounded off by a freshman recruit from upstate New York. Ashley Lawrence played defense for four years in high school and wishes to do whatever it takes to contribute to the team's success.

The Schedule

The schedule proves to be challenging as ever. Still, the ladies will have the advantage of playing at home more than they ever have.

The team will open its season on February 21 with a matchup against Manhattan College at 2 pm in Riverdale, N.Y.

The Lady Bison will open the home portion of its schedule on March 2 against long time rival, Niagara. They have not played this team since 2005, however, so the game will be most likely be very challenging as both teams have grown tremendously in that time.

On March 5 the team has another home game against Wilmington out of Delaware. The Bison won this game last season and though it is a Division II program, it should be another competitive game.  March 12 brings St. Francis, a team from Pennsylvania, to Howard.

On March 18, the team will again play at home against Siena College. This was a game that was supposed to be played last season but was cancelled due to weather. Siena is a competitive school in the ECAC and it will be a closely matched game.

The Bison will close out March on the 22 with another home contest against Canisius.

April brings the first away game for the ladies since February, a matchup against UMBC at Baltimore on the 5^th. UMBC, a well coached and consistent opponent, will probably be a bit more of a struggle for the team, but they remain on the schedule as a benchmark for improvement.

On April 9, the Bison will face off against Navy in Annapolis. This will be a closely matched game, as the game last season came down to the final minutes with Howard losing in the end by a single point.

The Bison face one of their toughest competitors on April 20, as they face Longwood University at home. Howard has not won against the Lancers in the last five seasons they have played each other.

Closing out the season at home, HU will play Cincinnati on May 2. This is a new program that will have a young but competitive squad.

The biggest challenge for the team may be to fill the void of the departed players. The seniors that graduated had played with the current seniors for their entire careers and had all come to depend on one another while developing a playing style that will be hard to duplicate. McGettigan will have to work to reinvent the team with the new players who bring a wealth of talent.