The Muskingum women's lacrosse team is ready for the new 2021 spring season after a long hiatus due to COVID-19. The Muskies begin the season at home against Ohio Athletic Conference foe Mount Union on Wednesday, March 3, at 7:00 p.m.
The Coach: The Muskies are led by third-year head coach Taylor Graf. Muskingum has set program records under Graf's leadership for most draw control wins in a season and the highest draw control percentage per game. She also has led the Muskies to most goals in a game, most assists in a game, most ground balls in a game, and most draw control wins in a game. Before Muskingum, Graf played for three years at Keene State College where she was a three-year letterwinner and captain.
The Captains: The Muskies will be led by senior Carly Spitz and junior Jacie Clifton. Spitz owns the school records for assists in a game (4) and assists in a season (11) while also being a former OAC Women's Lacrosse Attacker of the Week. She also notched a career-best 18 goals in a shortened 2020 season. Clifton scored a career-high seven goals and a career-best four assists in the 2020 spring season.
The Players: Players to watch out for and make an immediate impact this season are sophomore Sara Woods, junior Shelby O'Donnell, junior Raiyah Johnson, and junior Alyssa Truba. Woods started all six games in 2020 and tallied eight goals with three assists. O'Donnell played 360 minutes in goal for the Muskies in 2020 and made 33 saves, Johnson notched 12 goals and secured 13 ground balls. Truba scored two goals and grabbed 11 ground balls in the 2020 season for Muskingum. The Muskies will also look to a strong recruiting class to make some noise in the Ohio Athletic Conference during the spring campaign.
The Schedule: The schedule features a 16-game schedule and concludes with the OAC Tournament. Muskingum will play eight other OAC schools this spring on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Game times will be 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays. The Muskies open the new season on Wednesday, March 3, at home against Mount Union.
Broadcasts: All home games will be played at the North Athletic Turf Field and will feature an HD video stream accessible through the OAC TV app and on fightingmuskies.com.
