'Cats Begins 2014 Lax Season Sunday vs. San Diego State

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DAVIDSON, N.C. — The Davidson women's lacrosse team gears up for the start of the 2014 season when it opens at Richardson Stadium this Sunday against first-time opponent San Diego State at 1 p.m.

Sunday's game marks the second straight year, and third time in the past four years overall, the Wildcats will open the campaign at home. Last year saw them face Virginia Tech, falling 12-8 in a closely knit contest until the end.

Davidson and the Aztecs will be facing each other for the first time. SDSU was suppose to play at Winthrop Friday night, but the game was moved to Monday due to the snow that hit the Carolinas.

In anticipation of the 2014 season, below is a look at the Season Preview....

Heading into their sixth season under head coach Kim Wayne, the 2014 Davidson lacrosse squad gears up for another strong run that they hope will result in a Big South Conference title, their final season in the league before moving to the Atlantic-10 in 2014-15.

The Wildcats, who won the inaugural Big South Regular Season title and reached the tournament championship game, bring back a strong core from last year's squad that went a perfect 7-0 in league play and tied the single-season school record with 11 wins. Included in those returning are six of their top-eight scorers led by Big South

Player of the Year Emily Cooke and first-team all-league performer Ann Fucigna.

At the helm with Wayne will be the Wildcats' three captains: seniors Paige Logan and Liz Edwards, along with junior Emily Rademacher. The 'Cats will rely upon their leadership and experience to assimilate another strong freshman class of eight first-year players.

What are some key factors for the team's success this season?
Coach Wayne: "The key is being able to use our bench. For the first time since I have coached at Davidson we have numerous subs that are all deserving of a starting spot. We have the largest squad I have ever coached with 25 deep. Our issue in the past has always been that we can't play a full 60 minutes at the pace we want to play. I'm confident that will not be the case this season."

Talk about joining the Atlantic 10 after this season?
Coach Wayne: "We had a great run in the Big South and I was honored to have been given the opportunity to be an honorary member, but I'm excited to play in the same conference as almost all of the other Davidson programs. The competition and travel will be demanding, but we typically add challenging teams to our schedule so playing in the A-10 will be no different."

2013 Quick Review ...
Last season, Davidson went 11-7 and 7-0 in the Big South to win the regular season title. The 'Cats reached the league championship game by taking a 17-8 semifinal contest against Liberty. Then in the finals, Davidson fell just short to High Point, 9-7, in a bid to reach the program's first NCAA Tournament. It was a record-setting year for the 'Cats. Emily Cooke set the program's single-season mark for points with 87 on a single-season school record 55 assists and 32 goals. She was named the Big South Offensive Player of the Year. Ann Fucigna became the program's all-time goals leader, while breaking her own single-season goal mark with 53. Seven Wildcats in all were named to the All-Big South First and Second Teams. Head coach Wayne was named the Big South Coach of the Year. The Wildcats as a team set a trio of records, which included a new single-season record for goals (229), a new program-best seven-game win streak during the season and its 11 total wins tied the most in a single-season, with eight of those wins coming at home, also tying a school record.

Record-setters and all-league performers Ann Fucigna and Big South Player of the Year Cooke return. What can we expect from the duo this year after a record-setting 2013 campaign?

Coach Wayne: "Expectations will be high for both Ann and Cooke, but that's expected when you have a great year (or years) in Ann's case. The difference between this year and last year is our bench. We have a lot of talent in our freshmen class, and our sophomores and juniors have stepped up a ton in the past few months, so I imagine the spotlight won't be on just one person anymore."

Senior Class ...
The senior class consists of five players this year. Leading the way are captains Logan (99 groundballs, 66 draw controls for career) and Edwards (played in 35 career games). Joining the duo are attackers Fucigna and Erin Doherty (127 career draw controls), and defender Rebecca Garman (45 groundballs and 21 caused turnovers for career).

How have you seen the senior class, your second recruiting class, develop from their freshmen season to now?
Coach Wayne: I'm always amazed at the transformation a player can make if they are willing to put the time and effort into getting better. I recruited Paige as a defender, but quickly realized that her speed and quickness could help us in the midfield and on attack. After playing a midfield position for almost two years (and being successful with it), I realized her leadership and presence on defense added more value to our team. Paige has accepted whatever role she has been given knowing that she is constantly doing what's in the best interest of her teammates and the program. She has been our mark-up defender since the beginning of last season and is one of the best defenders I have ever coached.

Ann and Erin were recruited for their stick skills and ability to challenge and finish their shots. I have been pleased with the impact they have both made. Becca had a great sophomore year and has proven more than most that she plans on going out on a high note. She's smart, vocal, aggressive, fast and has great size. Both Becca and Paige have done an amazing job thus far leading the defense. Liz is our only midfielder in the senior class and has pushed herself through numerous back injuries. I'm looking forward to seeing how her leadership as a captain, her determination and love for this team will transition into her play this spring."

Offense- Midfielders & Attackers ...
The Wildcats return nearly all of their offense after scoring a school record 229 goals last year (12.72 goals a game). Six of their top-seven double-digit goal scorers return. Leading the charge is the tandem of Fucigna and Cooke who combined for 88 goals and 100 points.

Fucigna was again one of the best scoring threats anywhere on the field. She broke her own Wildcat single-season record for goals with 53 and became the program's all-time leading goal scorer with 153 and points leader with 197. An All-Big South First Team pick, Fucigna ranked second in the league in goals.

Cooke had a huge sophomore campaign. The attacker set single-season records for assists (55) and points (87), while finishing third and eighth, respectively, in the nation in both categories. She is just 15 assists away from breaking the program's all-time mark.

In addition, attackers Doherty and Emma Sissman along with midfielder Rademacher return after strong campaigns a year ago. Doherty had 12 goals and is already the program's all-time leader with 127 draw controls.

Sissman and Rademacher scored 28 and 18 goals, respectively. Sissman had 64 draw controls to pace the team and ranked second in the Big South. Rademacher was the only midfielder to make the All-Big South First Team.

Junior Mary Leonard also returns after scoring 16 goals and attaining 25 points. Fellow classmate Catherine Schmidt totaled seven points, while sophomore Jean Atkinson had 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists. Sophomore Lucy Sexton will look to bounce back after missing all but three games to a season-ending injury. She

scored five goals in those three games.

Defense ...
The Wildcat defense will be in a transition. They will have to replace a core group of all-league goalie Jessica Melby along with all-league defender Abigail Doelger (recorded back-to-back 20 caused turnover seasons), who also garnered Big South All-Academic honors, and Erin McGuire. McGuire joined Doelger and Melby on the Big South All-Tournament Team and finished her career with 90 groundballs, 97 draw controls and 38 caused turnovers.

Melby left Davidson as one of the program's top keepers. A three-year starter, Melby set a single-season record with an 8.36 goals against average and finished second all-time with a career 11.05 GAA. She was also second in minutes played and stopped 415 shots during her career.

Looking to replace them are seniors Logan and Garman, along with Maddy Sivilli, Holly Thomas, Veronica Fiorino and Sarah Duncan. The underclassmen combined to play in 30 games, starting nine of them last year. Thomas had eight groundballs and four draw controls to lead the pack.

The final layer of the defense is new goalie Katy Boyle. The junior saw action in four games last year, learning under Melby. She twice played a season-high 30 minutes in wins vs. Kennesaw State and Campbell.

Backing her up will be Dana Stasieluk, who hails from Edina, Minn. As a junior prepster, she ranked No. 3 in the state in goaltender wins.

There are eight freshmen this year. Talk about what they bring to the table and how you see them contributing this season?
Coach Wayne: "What impresses me the most about this class is that we have six midfielders who are capable of playing both ends and being successful at it. Annie Brockett is one of the quickest players on the team. Kacey Merlini, Nicole Pettiglio and Arden Simone are all defensive middies. Their footwork, speed and one-on-one defense standout the most. Morgan Burch has an ability to cut hard and get a great shot off, while fellow midfielder Katherine Rueger has a great attacking drive to cage. Kendall Thielemann is the only low attacker in this class. She was forced to step up this fall to fill the shoes of Cooke, who spent the semester abroad. The experience alone forced her to transition quickly from a high school senior to a DI athlete and I'm excited to see the impact she is capable of making. Dana was recruited for her athletic ability, as she has the potential to be a standout goalie and is lucky to have great leadership above her."

The Schedule ...
Davidson opens the season at home against San Diego State, February 16. It will be the first time matching up against the Aztecs. The 'Cats then embark on a four-game road trip to George Washington, pre-season No. 15 Navy,

Kennesaw State and No. 6 Duke, Feb. 23-March 13. Davidson hosted the Blue Devils, ranked No. 9 at the time, last year and fell 14-6 which was the most goals any team scored against the 'Cats all season. Duke was ranked No. 6 in Inside Lacrosse's Face-Off Yearbook preseason poll after going 14-6 a year ago and reaching the quarterfinals in the NCAA tournament. They have advanced to the tournament 16 straight times.

Davidson welcomes for the first time to Richardson Stadium in program history Elon (March 22), which is starting its first lacrosse program this year, Old Dominion (April 1, 4-13 a year ago), Winthrop (April 4, 9-8 overall and 3-4 in Big South) and Coastal Carolina (April 11, 5-11 & 2-5 Big South).

Coming off its first regular-season Big South title, Davidson opens league play against Winthrop. The Wildcats earned the program's first-ever conference title by concluding last year with an 11-5 win vs. the Eagles. In addition to hosting Coastal, the 'Cats will also play Liberty at home, while going to Campbell (April 8), Presbyterian (April 13), Longwood (April 25) and High Point (April 27).

The Panthers (10-9, 6-1 Big South) finished runner-up to Davidson in the regular season, but captured the league's tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 9-7 win vs. Davidson in the final. They were picked to win the league again this year, while the Wildcats were picked second in the coaches poll.

The Big South Tournament will open April 30 with the quarterfinal rounds being hosted by the higher seed. The semifinals and final round will be hosted by the No. 1 seeded team, May 2-4.

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