The Castleton women’s lacrosse team is on the lookout for new players to help improve the team. The team is competing under new head coach, Bella Ferraro, and is hoping for a strong season, yet the lack of players has caused a few bumps.

The team is currently competing with 13 players – down from 17 last year.

“I am very excited to dive right into the season. The team is really dialed and ready to grow. That has been one of the biggest topics of conversation with us in the short time I’ve been here, being vulnerable towards growth,” said Ferraro.

With games starting up, players have prepared themselves over the short preseason and managed to gather two walk-ons for this season.

“It was pretty scary to walk on at first honestly. I didn’t know anyone, and it was my first sport, but after hanging out with some of the girls, I felt very included and loved,” sophomore goalie Liv Cormier said.

“It’s been fun, everyone is super fun and nice, coaches and players both. Everyone is willing to help me learn and always seems to be positive. It’s a fun time and I’m glad I did it,” said fellow walk-on Katie Stager said.

The team does not have a recruitment system in place, so they rely mainly on walk-ons for needed players. Players are working hard to make every new player, even if they have never played before, feel welcome and put extra work into helping their new teammates understand the game.

“We’re trying our best to recruit but it’s been very difficult. We unfortunately have a reputation that has built over the years, and we are trying to change that. We are a different team than we were the past couple years, and we want Castleton to know that. We’ve only been able to recruit one girl, but our goal is to recruit three or more,” said sophomore Gretel Seaman.

With the new coaching, things have been starting to look up for the team. The women have been working extra hard on the recruiting process to find potential incoming freshmen from their hometowns and many other places.

Many players didn’t know much about the sport or the technicalities behind it, yet they still were allowed to strive on the team.

“I walked on to women’s lacrosse last year with no prior experience. The girls were all super helpful and friendly last year and taught me a lot of what I know now. When our old coach left, it was hard to hear as I was just figuring out the sport and starting to enjoy it more, but now with Coach Ferraro, she’s made our team come closer together and is teaching us new plays and new tactics, which I think is going to help our team in the long run,” senior Kailyn August said.

Ferraro has built up a brand-new environment where everyone can succeed. Many players are extremely pleased with the way she has taken over, even though she has only been here for a short amount of time.

“With Coach Ferraro leading our team, I can already see a lot of improvement in our team as well as myself. I think the season has been way different than last but, definitely for the better,” August said.

“Our season has been a struggle from the start. Our Awesome GA Cassie had to step up and take the role as our coach for the last few weeks. Due to a lack of players and a lack of coach, we had a hard time with our team dynamic. Since Coach Ferraro started, we’ve improved a lot. Our dynamic is much better. Intensity at practice has increased. Communication and motivation have been good,” Seaman said.

The women are ready to head into the season and are prepared for the challenges they are going to face ahead. They continue to hope for more women to become interested and want to play, but for now, they will continue with the team they have.

“The squad has been working hard and we are ready to establish a strong, competitive presence in the LEC this year,” Ferraro said.

The Spartans currently sit 0-2 after falling to Russell Sage 12-6 on March 9.