The Daemen University women’s lacrosse team played its first-ever scrimmage against Gannon University on Sept. 24 at Williamsville South High School.
“Saturday’s scrimmage was the first opportunity these student-athletes had to compete against another institution,” said Michael Miranto, senior associate athletics director for operations and communications at Daemen. “They have been practicing and building cohesion and chemistry as a team.”
This scrimmage is the first of many planned in preparation for the team’s inaugural season, which begins in February, 2023.
“This was our opportunity to go out there and show everyone our potential,” said the team’s Head Coach Dominique Hamman. “It proved we can already compete with a well-established team.”
Women’s lacrosse was announced as a Daemen varsity program back in June, 2021, therefore the chance to play against Gannon – a school other Daemen teams often compete against – was highly-anticipated to say the least, explained Hamman.
“For the first time, our players were able to take this program in their hands,” she said. “There were definitely a lot of nerves due to how big the moment was, but as the game settled in the talent within the team was on display.”
Miranto explained that two recruitment cycles took place to find the right players for the team. The first seven players were able to practice together last year, while the rest of the teammates only recently came on board.
“We had transfers, current students, and recruits join the team,” said Hamman. “Seeing all the players work together was perfect – they are all progressing exactly the way we anticipated.”
Looking forward to the future, Hamman said the team is going to continue to develop and mature.
“I think the pressure will hit when we work our way up to the championship level. We made this great team and now we have to build off that and be consistent once we reach the top,” she said.
Stay up-to-date on the women’s lacrosse team, as well as other Daemen Athletics news here.