On Oct. 22, the St. Joe’s Women’s Lacrosse team played in the 15th annual Philly 5 Lacrosse Tournament hosted by Temple University. Over the course of six hours, the Hawks played four games against cross-town rivals Villanova University, Drexel University, Temple University and La Salle University.
The following day, they played exhibition games against University of Pennsylvania and University of Pittsburgh to close out their fall season. According to Head Coach Alex Kahoe, the competition provides her team a great opportunity to test their consistency, as well as the things they have been working on as a team all fall.
“It’s so exciting to be able to have opponents and this opportunity, two days in a row and to really test ourselves,” Kahoe said. “[To] see where we are and really hold true to playing St. Joe’s lacrosse for two days in a row.”
Kahoe said even though there is such a short turnaround for these games, they just try and take things one half at a time.
“We did a lot of preparation this week,” Kahoe said. “It helps and matters in terms of our recovery and the way we deliberately plan the week knowing we have quite a few competitions this weekend.”
According to senior midfielder Riley Evans, a competition like this is good preparation for the team in being able to perform in the spring when they are tired and sore.
“When we play in season, we do have quick turnarounds for games,” Evans said. “So it is kind of nice to practice that in the fall and get everybody used to that.”
Senior attacker Lisa Ross said the good thing about the Philly 5 Tournament is that they are only 45 minutes long, as opposed to the hour long games they normally play. According to Ross, having so many games in succession against strong opponents is something that the team needs.
“I think it will be a big determinant of things we need to work on, be stronger on, and get our chemistry going,” Ross said. “And just building off of that one game at a time, really. That’s our mentality.”
According to Evans, the Philly 5 Tournament is a fun event that the team really enjoys participating in.
“I think it’s nice to get a feel for what teams we’re going to be seeing in season,” Evans said. “I think it’s really beneficial to play them in the fall.”
Evans said that as seniors, she and Ross are excited to play in their last fallball game of their careers, especially since they did not have any fall games last year.
“This is where it really starts with building that foundation of playing together,” Evans said. “Having that chemistry that will later on help us in the spring. So I think just bringing energy, bringing the fun to our last fall ball game.”
According to Ross, the competitions this weekend are a way for the team to build their chemistry for the upcoming season and do what they have to do in order to defend their A-10 crown.
“We came off of the championship, so we’re still trying to defend that,” Ross said. “That’s our ultimate goal at the end of the day.”
The Hawks have 13 newcomers on their roster this year, and Kahoe said the team is coming together well on the field this fall.
“Every day we’re learning more about who the 2023 St. Joe’s women’s lacrosse team is,” Kahoe said. “This weekend will be another opportunity for us to learn who we are, and as we continue to build towards an A-10 championship.”
