The seniors on the Northwestern Lehigh girls lacrosse team are going through drills from their fourth coach in four seasons. That can be difficult for a team to work through, especially a team in just its fifth season as a varsity sport.

The seniors push on and have adjusted, as have the younger players, and look for success in the upcoming season.

On the field, first-year head coach Pam Colistra has just one hole that was created by graduation, but it’s a big one.

Emma Yanders, who just a few days ago was awarded the Landmark Conference Defensive Athlete of the Week honor for her play in goal at Lycoming College, graduated after last season. Sophomore Ashley Yacynych has taken the reins and Colistra likes what she has seen in the early going.

“Ashley has done really well in goal for us, and I think she’s the right choice,” Colistra said. “She has a good group of defenders in front of her and that always helps when you are relatively new to being the starter. The girls back there are natural leaders and have helped her out.”

A core group of seniors with Olivia Costa, Olivia Spatz, Cara Thomas, and Sydney Wright provide veteran leadership on the field and have helped younger players adjust to varsity play. Costa and Thomas are the leaders in the midfield, and Spatz will move up from the defense to play as a midfielder.

Kerschner had a big season as a sophomore who grew into her own on defense and provides experience and leadership in front of Yacynych. Sydney Wright returns after undergoing back surgery to rejoin the attackers.

“It feels so good to be out there again,” said Wright. “I really wasn’t allowed to move much for a while, so to have been able to come back and be cleared to play for my senior year is great. I was a little cautious at first, but I’m completely cleared, and I realize that I’m okay and can be out there and ready to go.”

“It’s been a little difficult to learn new things every season and adjust to a new coach,” said Spatz. “But it’s gone well this spring, and I think we are heading in a good direction. We didn’t lose a lot of players, so we are all pretty familiar with each other and that helps.”

After an 11-8 season in 2023, the team slipped to 8-11 last season. This season opens with an experienced group of players and a new coach who has shown that she knows the game and is passionate about coaching the team. Consistency in the coaching ranks has been lacking from the program and Colistra figures to be the answer to that problem.