Despite not making a trip to Puerto Rico this season, the women’s lacrosse is poised for another fun year, according to head coach Sarah Lamphier.

“I walk into practice excited and walk out thinking that was fun,” said Lamphier. “Even when we have bad practices versus ourselves, it’s been good in comparison to before. I feel really good in what we are capable of doing this year.”

The team finished 7-10 last season and 5-4 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play. Their season ended with an 18-7 loss to Roanoke College in the first round of the ODAC tournament.

The ODAC returns just as strong this year as it was last year, providing challenging competition for the Quakers in conference play.

“You don’t know what’s going to happen any given day,” said Lamphier. “It’s about who shows up.”

The Quakers were ranked seventh in the annual ODAC preseason poll released Feb. 9.

“Preseason polls are a good marker, whether trying to live up to expectations or trying to disprove what has been said,” said Lamphier. “I know last year we did much better than what was expected with our preseason poll. I have a feeling we will do the same this year.”

Captains for the team are seniors Summer Fowler who is a defender, midfielder Demming Carlow, goalkeeper Sammi Milbourn and junior goalkeeper Sarah Sedaghat.

“Our team is always evolving each year,” said Sedaghat. “We graduate great athletes and gain awesome new additions.

“Previous players learn from their experience and always are bringing new skills to the table. This year we also have a new assistant coach (Charlotte Dixon), who is bringing a new perspective and air of positivity.”

In terms of the team’s chemistry, they continuously works to develop a flow on the field.

“We’re still trying to find our rhythm, but overall, we are playing a lot better together,” said Lamphier. “It’s in the details, refining skills or making sure that our communication is stronger. We are building toward it, for sure, but when it comes to putting pieces together in the game with full team attack or full defense…(there are) moments where we have some lapse.

“We’re just working on chipping away, so we can get the right shots off that we need to as a team or the right defensive plays.”

Along the lines of strong chemistry, Sedaghat focused on the tactical advantage the team is working to develop.

“The biggest thing we have worked on is playing intelligently,” said Sedaghat. “We work a lot on strategy because, with such a small team, we need to be smart about how we handle the ball.”

The Quakers dropped their first matchup of the season to Berry College, 8-7. Guilford outscored the Vikings 5-4 in the final 30 minutes of the game, led by sophomore Amanda Dionne who had five total goals.

Lamphier stressed the importance of the out-of-conference games and how they prep the team for their ODAC opponents.

“Out of conference incredibly important,” said Lamphier. “They give us a challenge and helps us figure out what we need to do or what we are doing well once we get to conference play.

“But those games also determine our regional rankings. Meredith College is an important game for us to win because they won their conference the last two years and have been regionally ranked. University of Mary Washington will be good for our regional ranking and is an incredibly challenging opponent for us.”

Guilford returns to face Meredith College at home on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

“This is going to be a great season for the Quakers,” said Lamphier. “With so many home games, I hope more people from the College will come out, and support our team and enjoy themselves on a nice, sunny day and enjoying some women’s lacrosse.”