Young Falcons working toward success

Courtesy of Nick Mallard, Sentinel & Enterprise

FITCHBURG -- As coach of the Fitchburg State University women's lacrosse team since its inception in 2007, Rick Terrio knows that the program is bound to see its ups and downs.

And just two seasons since its highest point to date -- a 12-3 record in 2011 -- the Falcons seem to be hitting a dip in the cycle of winning and losing seasons, kicking off this season with an 0-2 record.

Having lost the top two goal scorers in program history (Amanda Burns with 182 goals and Kelly Finamore with 119) and arguably the most versatile two-way player in its history, Carissa Kennedy, to graduation after last year's 7-10 campaign, the Falcons are struggling at the start of the 2013 season.

But Terrio insists its not due to a lack of effort from his relatively inexperienced team and that he believes things will turn around soon.

"We're a young team. They've got great attitudes," said Terrio, whose team is back in action Thursday on the road against 1-4 Elms College. "We're not going to have an Amanda and Kelly, where we can depend on two players. The 11 girls out there have to play together in order to do well. They have to play together as a team."

The early-season struggles haven't been simple to solve. The Falcons are having a rough go finding the net, scoring just four goals in their two games during a trip to Florida, while surrendering 27 total markers.

Junior Chelsea Roberts leads the team with two goals and is the only player with more than one point on a team that has yet to register an assist.

Senior captains Jessica Bartlett and Kristin Dooley each have a goal, rounding out the scorers for FSU. Bartlett netted a team-high 55 goals last season, while sophomore Lindsay White tallied 35 in her first year. Terrio believes that his team was unprepared for the double- and triple-teams that his two top scorers from last season have faced, and he says the proper adjustments have been made.

"If Jess comes anything close to what she had last year, I'll be thrilled, but she's going to face double-teams all season," Terrio said. "Teams are going to be focusing on her. The first two teams we played double-teamed Jess and Lindsay and we weren't prepared for that. Teams are going to put pressure on them and we're going to have to move the ball quickly. It's going to leave other players open and we're going to have to focus on moving the ball and finding the open person."

Freshman Elizabeth Darrigo has started both games in net, playing the majority of the team's minutes with junior Dylana Drolette earning just over 20 minutes of play between the pipes in relief.

"The goaltending has been outstanding and our defense has played well," Terrio said. "I'm really happy with that end of the field, but the offense has been a slow go. We've improved as games have gone on and in practice, but we've just had problems putting the ball in the net. I think we've fixed that."

Terrio pointed specifically to the play of senior captain Kayla Melville and freshman Leslie Jaffie in the defensive end as standout performers so far this season.

But the early games certainly haven't been cakewalks. The Falcons have fallen to Curry and Vassar, which was ranked 13th in the country at the time. With two weeks between games, FSU will be in much better shape when it returns to action.

"The delay might end up working out for us, in a way. We had a couple of injuries when we were down in Florida and the time off has allowed us to get a little bit healthy," Terrio said. "In the long run, it might be better that we missed a few games. We all want to be out on the field, but I think we're all going to be ready now.

"It's a bit frustrating to be in a gym for nine weeks, bit the Florida trip helped. This team has bonded and come together as a family."

While the delay may help the team, it also has the Falcons itching to get on the field.

"We're excited to get back outside," Melville said. "We want to get out there and do well."

And doing well is certainly something Terrio believes his team is capable of accomplishing.

"Our goal is to make the playoffs and win a playoff game," he said. "Our mantra this year is, 'One game at a time.' We're not going to hurry things."