Penn State women's lacrosse coach Suzanne Isidor said her team sometimes depended too much on Colleen O'Hara last year.
And why wouldn't they?
O'Hara led the team in points in each of the past three seasons, including 34 goals and 23 assists last year. If they look for O'Hara this year, they will be out of luck as she was one of three seniors the team lost to graduation.
Despite the loss of O'Hara, Isidor said this group of players is the most talented group she has had since arriving to Penn State in 2001.
In goal for the Nittany Lions will be third-year starter Lee Tortorelli. She had a 9.71 goals against average last year and broke her own record for saves in a season with 199. Tortorelli and senior Katie Jeschke have been tabbed preseason All-ALC. Defender Jackie Sherman said having Tortorelli in goal builds confidence in the entire team.
"As a defensive player, I don't know what I'd do without 'Tort' back there," she said. "We look to her for leadership. Even if we do slip up, we know she can make up for it."
The Lions, ranked No. 10 in the preseason IWLCA poll, will be playing with added incentive this year. For the first time in the conference's three-year existence, the winner of the ALC will be awarded an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In previous years, ALC teams had to depend on at-large bids to make the tournament. Last year, the Lions finished second in the conference with a 9-8 overall record and a 5-1 record in the ALC but did not make the tournament.
To improve their record this year, the Lions will look to improve their performance in close games. Four of Penn State's eight losses came by one goal last season, including a 10-9 defeat to Ohio State, which cost them the regular season conference title.
Sherman said that Isidor has been incorporating new drills into practice to help prepare the team for the close games.
The Lions face seven teams ranked in the preseason top 10 and nine of their games will be against opponents ranked in the top 20.
However, the only ALC team ranked above Penn State is Ohio State at No. 9.
Here is a preview of how some of the other top ALC teams stack up going into the season:
No. 9 Ohio State
After posting a program-best 14-4 record last season, the Buckeyes earned the top spot in the preseason ALC standings. The main reason that Ohio State believes it can retain its ALC title is Regina Oliver.
Oliver scored 43 goals and was the player of the year in the ALC last season. The junior comes into this season as the preseason favorite to duplicate that honor. She is joined on the preseason All-ALC team by sophomore midfielder KC Carter. Carter was the rookie of the year in the ALC last season with 18 goals.
Aside from Oliver and Carter, five other starters return this season for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes lost five starters, three of whom were first team All-ALC last season.
The biggest loss for the team will be goalie Erin Forquer. Sophomore Kim Hastings will attempt to fill the void left by the ALC Goalie of the Year last season. Hastings saw action in only six games and had a .355 save percentage and 8.56 goals against average.
Ohio State finished last season ranked No. 11, and lost to eventual NCAA champion Princeton in the quarterfinals of last season's NCAA tournament.
No. 16 Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt will head into the season with a conference-high three preseason All-ALC players. The senior trio of attacker Lauren Peck, and midfielders Michelle Allen and Jess Roguski, will look to lead the Commodores.
In its season-opening loss to No. 3 Virginia, Peck and Allen both had three goals and two assists, while Roguski added two goals. They join six other seniors on the team to form a very experienced squad.
In goal, junior Ashley Bastinelli has started 29 games in her first two seasons. She allowed an average of 10.93 goals last season.
Against Virginia she allowed nine goals, with three saves.
Vanderbilt finished tied for third last season in the ALC with a 4-2 conference record.
No. 20 Johns Hopkins
According to Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse coach Janine Tucker, the team will attempt to combine "a lot of solid players, and also a lot of young talent."
The Blue Jays return eight starters, including first team All-ALC defenseman, Lacey-Leigh Hentz, and second team All-ALC midfielder, Heidi Pearce. Hentz was third in the ALC last season with 31 turnovers caused. Pearce, who had 24 goals and 16 assists last season, and senior defenseman Rachel Krom will co-captain the team.
Johns Hopkins finished at 11-5 last season, 4-2 in the ALC.
Northwestern, Ohio, Davidson
Northwestern has already played in two games this season. It beat Davidson 25-6 and lost to No. 4 Duke, 15-9. Northwestern finished 8-8 last season, and gets back its captain, Sarah Albrecht, who missed last season with a knee injury. Ohio's seniors Becky Oxman and Lynz Keys are both preseason All-ALC, and join 11 other letterwinners for this year's team that finished 5-10 last season. Davidson won just one game last year and is already 0-2 on the season.
