Women’s Lacrosse Wants Revenge for Last Season’s Semifinal Defeat

By Lilyen McCarthy

“There isn’t one day where I don’t walk onto the field without the feeling of getting revenge from last season,” said senior midfielder Kerrin Heuser.

Last season, Adelphi women’s lacrosse went 18-3. Their only losses came from an overtime defeat in the regular season, a loss in the conference tournament semifinals, and their season-ending loss against the University of Indianapolis in the NCAA Championship semifinals.

Senior midfielder Kerrin Heuser has revenge on the mind this season. Photo by AU Athletics

In the 2023 NE10 Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Poll, Adelphi ranked first with 11 first-place votes. As of April 3, Adelphi ranks ninth in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association, which includes the 25 top Division II teams in the nation. AU holds a winning record for this season.

Heuser has been with the Panthers since 2021 after transferring from Stony Brook University in 2020. She started in every match-up last season except for one and is hungry for the national title after falling in the semi-finals last season. Heuser was awarded NE10 Defensive Player of the Week at the end of March.

“I am extremely grateful to have been given NE10 Defensive Player of the Week, but this wouldn’t be possible without my team,” said the Hicksville native. “This past week, we faced some really good competition who did not allow the games to be easy against them.”

Kerrin Heuser was recently awarded NE10 Defensive Player of the Week. Photo by AU Athletics

Out of just over 100 women’s D2 lacrosse programs, the NE10 conference has seven teams ranked in the top 25, with one more receiving votes. Every week, Adelphi faces top competition, constantly defending their high ranking.

“Not one game will be easy moving forward, but I have no doubt that we will keep on doing what we do best, being the hardest workers on the field and showing up every game no matter who the opponent is,” said Heuser.

The Panther’s toughest upcoming competition lies with their match-ups against Le Moyne College and Bentley University, Bentley being the team’s senior day. Even so, no contest can be taken for granted, as the team saw last year in both the conference and NCAA tournaments.

“I have no doubt in the world that we will be there [NCAA finals] again this year and take what we know we can get and finish what we started.”