2020 Season Preview: UD Women's Lacrosse begins Cochran era at Huntingdon College
MULTMEDIA COVERAGE
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THE LEAD VS. HUNTINGDON
The University of Dallas women's lacrosse team kicks off the 2020 season at Huntingdon College on Saturday at 4 p.m. Dallas will be on the road once this month and then return home for two contests in Irving to close out February.
SEASON PREVIEW
Head Coach Kaitlin Cochran was hired January 6 and became the ninth coach of the program. Cochran carries a roster of 15 to start the season, including 10 newcomers. The Crusaders leading scorer from a season ago that returns is Emily Pauletti (Dallas, Texas) with 25 goals. UD also returns goalkeeper Lizz Winkler (St. Charles, Ill.), who led the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) with 100 saves.
Pauletti did earn All-SCAC Honorable Mention in 2019, and is the only one of four recipients for an all-conference team accolade back this season. The remaining trio graduated. The Crusaders are coming off a 4-10 seasons and were the third seed in the SCAC Tournament, their first ever trip to one.
ROSTER OUTLOOK
Dallas has five returners back from the previous season and each have played at least two years with the program. Besides Pauletti and Winkler are Jordyn Buell (Murrieta, Calif.), Gillian Gaffney (Hershey, Pa.), and Sarah Gamble (Allen, Texas). Gamble graduated last May, but still has a season of eligibility for lacrosse and is a graduate student.
Forming the huge group of newcomers are: Veronica Lang, Ann Rushing (Brighton, Mich.), Isabella Flynn (Seattle, Wash.), Sarah DeKay (Farminton, N.M.), Anne Davis (Ogden, Utah), Lizzy Elfet (Brookfield, Wis.), Elizabeth Padilla (Waco, Texas), Teagan Walsh (Chevy Chase, Md.), and Tierra Allen, and Gabby Dixon (San Diego, Calif.). Flynn is the younger sister of former player Christiane Flynn (Seattle, Wash.), who played lettered in 2017 and 2018.
ABOUT HUNTINGDON
The Hawks went 4-12 last season, which included a 3-7 record in the USA South. Huntingdon was selected 10th out of 12 teams with 40 points in the USA South Preseason Lacrosse Poll. Shelby Martin is the returning threat offensively that led the team with 41 points and 37 goals as a sophomore last season. Vanessa Maldonado is another top scorer back that had 19 goals. Morgan Coppini was the team's only goalkeeper last season and is listed as the only one coming into Saturday. She played 960 minutes and had 150 saves her freshman year.
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
Dallas used an 8-1 first half to propel the team to a 15-13 final last season in Irving. The Crusaders held off a furious run by Huntingdon in the second half that included the visitors knotting the game at 13 with 5:52 left. UD scored the last two goals to determine the outcome. Pauletti, who finished with two goals, had the insurance goal there. Gamble is another returner with a goal, as 11 goals were by graduates Lexi Leite and Erika Keever. Winkler notched 14 saves.
The Hawks were led by Maldonado (5) and Martin (4) with nine combined goals. Coppini made seven saves.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Huntingdon 2019 Season Stats
- All-time Series: UD is 1-1
ROAD AHEAD
Dallas plays in front of its home crowd for the first time this season on Feb. 19 versus Elmira College. Match starts at 4 p.m.