Lacrosse (8-8, 2-7 Atlantic 10) is tied for eighth out of 11 teams in the A-10 standings with just one game remaining in the regular season, despite a successful start during nonconference play in February.
After winning five of their six nonconference games to start the season, the Revs have lost eight of their last 11 matches, most against conference opponents. The team’s two conference wins came over George Mason and La Salle, which rank last and second to last in the conference, respectively.
“Overall, we’re pleased with our team’s performance so far this season,” Head Coach Colleen McCaffrey said in an email. “While a few A-10 losses were disappointing and we wish to have those games back, we continue to focus on the process of growth.”
With the Revs’ 8-15 loss at Davidson on Saturday, they will fail to make the A-10 tournament for the second year in a row as only the top six teams in the conference qualify to compete.
Despite the recent losses, the Revs’ record is an improvement from last season’s 4-13 overall record and 1-8 record in conference. The team currently sits just one spot ahead of its ninth-place finish in the conference last year.
McCaffrey joined the Revs in 2023 and led them to a fifth-place finish in the conference that year. The 2023 season marked the last time the program finished with a conference record at or above .500 since 2015.
McCaffrey said the team’s work in the offseason catalyzed their wins at the start of the season against Howard University, Kent State University, William & Mary College and Robert Morris University — the latter two of which GW won by one goal each.
“The key to our four-game win streak was really our preparation and team chemistry throughout preseason and the early weeks of season,” McCaffrey said. “We spent a lot of time in the offseason building trust and working on fundamentals, and that paid off early.
The Revs lost their March 8 conference opener to Duquesne 10-11 off a goal they conceded with just over a minute to go in the game. The Revs picked up their first conference win on March 29, defeating George Mason 15-8, with junior attack Grace Curry scoring seven goals. Curry leads this year’s scoring with 41 goals on the season.
The team’s top two goal scorers from last season — Emma Nowakowski and Desiree Kleberg — graduated last year.
McCaffrey said the team is working to develop offensive personnel that helps younger players feel more comfortable in the college game, which is more physical and fast paced than high school. Freshman attack Sophia Levine leads the first years in scoring this season with 12 goals, coming off the bench in all her games.
McCaffrey said that on the defensive end, the team relies on its veterans and needs to make “smart adjustments” as the game unfolds. Senior Katie Hipp and junior Parker Cranz are among the team’s veterans on that side of the field, both having started all 16 games on defense.
“We continue to emphasize our defensive goal of holding opponents to under 10 goals per game,” McCaffrey said.
McCaffrey’s squad has given up more than 10 goals in each of its losses this season. The team has the third-lowest average in the A-10 at 10.47 goals allowed per game, down from last year’s average of 13.79, which was the second highest in the conference in 2024.
The Revs will wrap up their season with a game against St. Bonaventure on Saturday on the Mount Vernon Campus.
