BALTIMORE — In the 49 year history of Loyola University women’s lacrosse there has never been a season like this.
"When the going gets tough this team really just finds a way to get going," said Greyhounds head coach Jen Adams. "They are just unapologetically their own team in this year. They are the 2022 Loyola women’s lacrosse team."
They are a team that is 18-1. The 18 win are a school record. Their lone defeat was by a single goal (14-13 on March 29 at Syracuse). They are one of three teams in the country with one loss or less.
Now comes the final stage of the season. The most important stage. The NCAA Tournament.
"Just knowing that it’s win or go home obviously puts a lot of excitement in the air and it’s a lot of fun," said Greyhounds attacker and Patriot League attacker of the year Livy Rosenzweig.
"We want the challenge and we want to be able to prove ourselves and we want to be able to go out there and play better teams and play and just keep going and going and proving how good of a team that we are and can be," said Greyhounds defender and Patriot League defensive player of the year Katie Detwiler.
Loyola is the No. 6 overall seed. They host first and second round games at Ridley Athletic Complex this weekend. The three-time defending Patriot League champions are vying for their first national title. They are the fifth-highest scoring offense in the nation tallying 16.68 goals per game. They allow the third fewest goals in the country - 7.58 per contest.
"That’s one of the best parts we have about our team, is that we’re not just one-sided," said Detwiler.
Standing between the Greyhounds and the next round is in-state opponent Mount St. Mary’s. The Mountaineers are back-to-back Northeast Conference Champs.
"They are a battle-tested team that when it came down to the wire they came out swinging," said Adams. "We’re going to have to have our A-game. We’re going to have to be very clean and tidy."
They get their chance when face-off arrives on Friday at 3:00 p.m.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
