Women’s Lacrosse Looking to Pick up Right Where they Left Off

Claire Kennedy ’25

Contributing Writer

Spring sports are in full bloom on Trinity’s campus and the women’s lacrosse team is gearing up for their season to begin. After a 6-1 record on home turf during the 2024 season, the Bantams made an appearance in the NCAA tournament but fell to Gettysburg College 13-11 in the first round. Women’s lacrosse finished the 2024 season ranked #16. With a promising group of returning players, they look forward to another strong spring. 

The Tripod had the opportunity to speak with attacker and captain Brooke Kurtz ’25 as well as midfielder Rebecca Strouch ’25. Kurtz, a two-year starting attacker, has tallied 26 goals and 62 assists for a total of 88 points in her career. Strouch, a lockdown defender who transitioned to midfield this year collected 15 draw controls in the 2024 season. 

Kurtz shared that she is most excited for their rigorous NESCAC schedule. “I am looking forward to playing our tough NESCAC opponents, specifically Wesleyan. I think we have a lot of young talent this year that will help us succeed during those competitive games.” In 2024, 7 out of the 10 NESCAC schools finished in the top 25 rankings. This competitive of a league creates intense matchups week in and week out. When asked what the team’s main strengths are this season Strouch noted, “Our depth on defense, and a good range of righty and lefty goalies.” Trinity returns 3 out of 4 starting defenders including captain Samantha Hark ’26 who was recently named as a USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason All-American Honorable Mention. They are joined by goalies Ali Macdougall ’26 who posted 102 saves in 2024 and  Olivia Aguirre ’27 who faced 57 shots through 6 games played in her first year with the Bantams. 

This spring break the women’s lacrosse team will travel to the West coast for some competitive matchups. They will face Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on their trip. The Bantams are 1-0 versus Pomona-Pitzer, who sits at #10 in the most recent IWLCA poll but have yet to face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and are excited for the challenge. Both Kurtz and Strouch expressed the importance of overnight trips such as this one and how it can help form connections with their teammates. “Team chemistry is one of the biggest aspects that we have been working on to build connections on and off the field during big games. Hopefully this can lead us back to the NCAA tournament in May” said Kurtz. Women’s lacrosse opened their season at Bowdoin on March 1 defeating the Polar Bears 15-4. Kesley Restivo ’27 led the way for the Bantams with 7 points (5G, 2A). They return to Robin L. Sheppard Field for their home opener Saturday, March 8 at 12 p.m. against Tufts.