College of Southern Maryland women's lacrosse picks up first win

Like the Hawks, Potomac State was a first-year program in 2015 and the teams battled to a close contest eventually won by Potomac State in their initial meeting.

The physical nature of the game and the close final score had Arter and her returning Hawks eager for last Saturday's season opener. For CSM, the game proved well worth the wait as it forged a 13-12 victory over Potomac State for the first triumph in the program's brief history. The two squads will renew their rivalry next month at Potomac State.

"That game last year really showed us how physical some of the games can get," said Ada, a Bishop McNamara High School graduate from Waldorf who attained All-Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference honors last season with CSM. "They're definitely our rivals. I had played in a lot of competitive games at McNamara in the WCAC, but that game was definitely very physical."

Dean, a 2015 La Plata High School graduate, enrolled in general studies classes at CSM but eventually planned to seek a degree in communications at Salisbury University of Towson University, admitted she had begun looking forward to the season opener well before practices started. February's heavy snowstorm kept most of the team's practices indoors until the squad shoveled off the tennis court to get outside.

"We knew there would be a transition going from high school to college," Dean said. "There were other teams that had more skill, but Potomac State was definitely a rough game. We didn't have any subs, so we constantly had to change positions on the field so everyone could sort of catch their breath during the game. We definitely look at them as our rival."

Arter, who was a head coach at Calvert then an assistant at Northern before coming onboard at CSM, admitted that one of the toughest lessons her team learned last year had little to do with their opposition, but the simple fact that the inaugural Hawks squad had no depth. Ada, Dean, Brittany Blackistone (Northern High School graduate), Krysta Chotkowski (Lackey) and Nicole Kearney (North Point) played through the initial season with the Hawks and returned to the squad this year, along with eight freshmen.

"Having coached club teams in the past, I was always accustomed to being able to have subs," Arter said. "So, last year was definitely part of the learning curve for me. We had a first-year program and we just did not have any depth. This year we have a good blend of sophomores and freshmen and now we have enough players to rotate girls in off the bench."

Many of the newcomers on the Hawks arrive from Southern Maryland Athletic Conference schools, including Cali Magee (Northern), Jordan Sullivan (Huntingtown), Kaitlyn Permenter (Northern), Kaitlyn Hilgenberg (Huntingtown), Logan Beyer (Northern), Mackenzie Garrison (Thomas Stone) and Samantha Wood (Northern). Freshman Jessica Fantaccione is from Toms River, N.J.

"A number of these girls got valuable playing experience last year at the college level and now we have some depth," Arter said. "Even though we did not win a game last year, I think we exceeded our expectations of what to expect from a first-year program. The girls have been working really hard in practice and now they know what it takes to compete at the collegiate level."