Emerson women’s lacrosse opened their season with an away game against Gordon College on Wednesday, Feb. 21 with a 22-13 win, and will play their home opener on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 6 p.m. versus Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT).
The Lions ranked ninth out of 11 teams in the New England Men’s and Women’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) preseason coaches poll, ahead of Clark University and Mount Holyoke College. Emerson is led by Jessie Koffman, entering her sixth season as head coach for the Lions, assisted by Hannah Pelletier. Before coming to Emerson, Koffman spent four years as head coach at WIT and played Division III collegiate lacrosse herself at Curry College in Milton, MA. Pelletier also served as the head coach for WIT for four years before joining the Lions’ staff, playing collegiate lacrosse at Central Connecticut State and Endicott College.
Returning is a strong group of starters, including senior captain Lauren Longstreet, who led the team with 66 points last season, and her two fellow captains: senior Maddy Reyes and junior Callie Krosin.
The two captains are the sole seniors on the team, both hailing from California. Last season, Longstreet tallied 46 goals and 20 assists on the attacking end while Reyes recorded 12 and 8, playing midfield her first few seasons and adding attack to her resume this year.
Along with Krosin’s 41 goals last season, midfielder Grace Danehy put up 27, and the two juniors played and started in all 16 games—making the women’s lacrosse class of 2025 major contributors to the team.
The team also boasts six sophomores and six freshmen, including returning sophomore goalies Ellie Spotts and Lindsey Wettstein. They will get a chance to prove themselves this season following the graduation of starting goalie Nina Khosla, who played in all 16 games last year.
The Lions’ schedule includes 16 games: 10 against conference opponents, and the remaining six versus various other Division III teams in the New England area.
In the match-ups against both Gordon and WIT last season, the Lions emerged victorious, winning 16-14 and 21-4 respectively. These earlier games should act as preparation and confidence-building for some of the tougher teams they will face later in the season.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Babson College are expected to be more difficult games, with the two schools ranked first and second preseason, respectively.
Both are vying for a NEWMAC championship return after Babson beat MIT 13-10 in the 2023 season. Emerson women’s lacrosse has never defeated MIT in the 10 years the Lions have been a part of the NEWMAC and have only bested Babson once, in the 2013-2014 season.
Out of conference, the games against Massachusetts Maritime Academy (March 2) and Nichols College (March 5) should be close games, as in the past two years the Lions’ matchups with these two teams have either been one-point wins or losses.
Last year, the Lions finished with a 3-13 record, and the year before, 9-7, which was the most successful season in program history. For the 2023 season, Emerson ranked sixth in the NEWMAC for goals per game and seventh for shot percentage.
The women’s lacrosse team hasn’t been to the postseason tournament since 2017, when they lost to MIT in the quarterfinals. The NEWMAC postseason is a seven-team tournament, so Emerson has their work cut out for them working their way up from their preseason ninth-place ranking. Postseason 2024 will begin with quarterfinals on Apr. 27 and finish with the NEWMAC championship game on May 4.
Fans can head to Rotch Field at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29, to see the Lions kick off their season at home.
