GETTYSBURG, Pa. – As the dawn of a new season approaches, the Gettysburg College women's lacrosse team has embraced the attention of being the top program in the country and the difficulty of trying to repeat that success.
 
Gettysburg captured its second NCAA Division III championship last May, defeating The College of New Jersey 6-5 in the title game. The Bullets tied the program record with 21 wins and defeated eight of the top programs in the country during the season.
 
That success has carried over to the start of 2018 as the team finds itself ranked atop preseason national and Centennial Conference polls. It's not an unfamiliar feeling for the program, which experienced the same preseason attention in 2012 after winning the national crown the prior spring.
 
"Being ranked number one in most of the media polls is great for the program recognition but it is certainly not our focus," said Head Coach Carol Cantele '83. "We are using the 2017 season success well in stating that we are a new team with the same dream.  We know the work that it takes to get there and the chemistry and mental toughness."
 
Cantele is entering her 26th campaign with the Bullets. She is 378-105 (.783) all-time at Gettysburg and surpassed 400 career wins overall as a collegiate coach last spring with Gettysburg's victory over Salisbury University in the NCAA regional championship.
 
Going out with a national championship in 2017 was a talented senior class that included the top two goals scorers on the team (Caroline Jaeger, Emma Christie), two starting defenders (Katelyn Neillands, Macauley Mikes), and a four-year starter in goal (Shannon Keeler). While the team will miss those players, a new core of leaders has developed to take on the mantle of success established by their predecessors.
 
This spring's captains include senior defenders Ali Gorab (Southport, Conn./Ludlowe) and Elsie Wagner (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) and senior attackers Katie Landry (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) and Katie Willis (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep).
 
Gorab and Wagner were integral parts of Gettysburg's record-breaking defensive unit in 2017. The duo helped the Bullets established new program and Centennial records with a goals against average of just 4.79. Gettysburg finished fourth in the country in scoring defense. Gorab finished second on the team with 32 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers, while Wagner posted 15 ground balls and six caused turnovers.
 
A two-time All-CC First Team selection and a third-team All-American in 2016, Landry racked up career highs with 43 assists and 76 points last season and enters her final campaign with 190 career points. Likewise, Willis is coming off personal highs in every offensive category, including goals (38), assists (15), and points (53).
 
"Our captains are doing a great job thus far of maintaining our program culture of being a teammate first and a friend second," noted Cantele. "They are demanding focus, attention to detail and leading a champion mindset mentality both on and off the field."
 
Gettysburg's high-powered offense put up more than 300 goals for the first time in three seasons in 2017 and that number will certainly rise with the addition of the 90-second possession clock in Division III this spring. The clock was instituted in Division I last season and contributed to a combined three-goal improvement per game in 2017.
 
"We are embracing the new rules and are adapting really well to the pace of the game," said Cantele. "They love the faster pace and the challenge of converting, whether it is getting a quality shot or a defensive stop, in the 90-second period."
 
Despite the loss of its two top goal producers, Gettysburg returns each of the next seven on the list, all of whom tallied at least 15 goals in 2017. Senior Maggie Welsh (Rye, N.Y./Holy Child) connected on 57.5 percent of her shots on the way to 23 goals, while classmate Maggie McClain (Wexford, Pa./Sewickley Academy) put up 19 goals off the bench. Sophomore Liza Barr (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) proved a viable offensive threat in her debut season with 15 goals and 14 assists.
 
The midfield will be bolstered by the return of CC Rookie of the Year Courtney Patterson (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) and junior Steph Colson (Westminster, Md./Manchester Valley). Patterson recorded 21 goals and a team-high 53 draw controls in her debut season. She tallied the team's tying goal in the national title game against TCNJ, which set up Colson for the game-winner in the final minutes.
 
Colson missed nearly six weeks of her sophomore campaign due to injury, but she returned for the national playoffs and garnered MVP honors in the title game. She posted 17 goals and five assists, while finishing among the team leaders in ground balls (22) and draw controls (38) in just 12 games.
 
In the mix for increased roles in the midfield are sophomores Ella Orzechowski (Elkridge, Md./Howard) and Maria Nemeth (Westfield, N.J./Westfield). The pair combined for 17 goals and five assists last season. Freshmen Bri Stokes (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) and Kerry McKeever (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) are among the top newcomers and could factor in the attack and midfield, respectively.
 
Wagner and Gorab anchor a veteran defensive unit that includes All-American Cassie Smith (Phoenix, Md./St. Paul's School for Girls) and junior Brooke Holechek (Reisterstown, Md./Notre Dame Prep). Smith garnered second-team national status after pacing the team in ground balls (33) and caused turnovers (20). Holechek has started each of the last 44 games on the defensive side of the ball.
 
Sophomores Claire Macatee (Street, Md./North Harford) and Daphne Budd (Darien, Conn./Darien) are among the top contenders for increased time in the backfield.
 
Gettysburg's biggest question mark comes in goal. Keeler finished as the program's all-time leader in wins (67) and ranked second in GAA (6.66). Looking to fill that void will be junior Bailey Pilder (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) and sophomores Abbie Lee (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) and Casey Cole (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood). Pilder has the edge in experience having appeared in 21 games and posting a 5.52 GAA.
 
The women's lacrosse team annually adopts taglines that describe its mindset for the year. Last year it was "now4later" and this year it is "grit4glory" and "LLK." The first reminds the team it takes hard work and commitment to get to the joy of success, while the second has a much deeper meaning to the program and institution. This past fall, athletic trainer Kerry Garrett succumbed to cancer after more than two years of battling the disease. Garrett, who was just 40 years old, continued her duties in the department with a determination and joy that belied her grim diagnosis.
 
"We all were so inspired by how she lived her life, even when she was sick," said Cantele. "She was fearless, she was positive and she was selfless, and we want to live and play like Kerry lived."
 
Gettysburg once again tackles a challenging schedule that includes seven teams ranked among the preseason top 25. Five of those opponents come in the Bullets' first six contests, including 2017 semifinalist Washington and Lee University on March 11. The Orange and Blue draw a rematch with TCNJ on March 29 and meet Franklin & Marshall in the annual Centennial showdown on April 4. The Diplomats handed Gettysburg a 7-6 loss in double-overtime in the finals of the CC Championship last season.
 
"Our team has set its goal for the 2018 season, which does include the Centennial Conference title," said Cantele. "While they have stated that as one of their goals, our first goal is to become 1-0 on Wednesday and after that it will be to become 2-0. This is how we will approach our season."
 
Gettysburg's season kicks off at No. 13 Messiah College on Wednesday at 4 p.m.