<b>Coach</b>: Meaghan Cromwell, second year (7-7)
<b>2007 Record</b>: (7-7, 4-2 National District)
<b>Season Ended</b>: Lost 17-7 to Langley in the first round of the region tournament.
<b>Key Losses</b>: G Krystie Hellberg, A Danielle Guessford, C Katie Newman, D Allison Gibbs
<b>Key Players</b>: C Megan Gibbs JR, D Annie Palgutt JR, D Ashley Mathieu SR
<b>Quotable</b>: “I told my girls, ‘any team can win on any given day.’ It doesn’t matter. It just depends on who comes out there ready to win so who knows? We could finish first. We could end up in last place. I honestly do not know.”” — Meaghan Cromwell, Mount Vernon girls lacrosse coach
<b>Outlook</b>: Mount Vernon head coach Meaghan Cromwell recently got an e-mail from a student wanting to play lacrosse. The tryout and preseason had gone and passed, and upon hearing that the Majors were paper-thin on the depth scale, the student inquired about joining the team.
Despite a 12-man varsity roster and a jayvee team that is playing a man down every game, Cromwell wasn’t having it.
“It may hurt us this season, but I don’t waver in that,” said Cromwell, who is a Mount Vernon graduate. “I don’t want girls to just come. I want girls who want to play lacrosse. Again while it may hurt us and there will be questions why I do that, it’s purely my policy. I don’t want people to be there just to be there.”
Last season, Cromwell carried 15 girls on the roster. But with the graduation of six seniors, including all-district attack Danielle Guessford, coupled with a lack of interest from the underclassmen, Mount Vernon has 12 players, just enough to field a team.
“We have barely enough to cover the field,” Cromwell said.
The Majors are led by its defense, though it hasn’t been evident in a 13-2 loss to T.C. Williams and a 15-1 loss at home to Langley to open the season.
“Defense is the strongest part of our team mainly because we have taller and stronger girls on that end of the field,” Cromwell said. “They’re also all returners so they’ve played with each other and know how to work together.”
Cromwell, who said she would have to pull up a jayvee player as a contingency plan someone a varsity player get injured, is avoiding any talk about injuries. She, however, does appreciate the attitude her team has taken despite the circumstances.
“They are a very close knit team. It’s like, ‘hey, look what we’ve been through,” Cromwell said. “Look what we have to do to compete with the average teams. We have got to be in better shape than them. It’s only us. We have no one else. We have to have fresh legs the entire game because there is no one else to put in.”