The women’s lacrosse team is looking forward to a chance to make up for last year. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
BROOKS BAKER-WATSON | STAFF REPORTER | bbakerwatson@butler.edu
Coming up on the 10-year anniversary of the program’s inception, the women’s lacrosse team has been on the wrong side of history. Dating back from the inaugural season in 2017 to last year — where the Bulldogs ended with a program-worst 0-14 record — the team has gone 24-106 overall, with only two of those wins coming in conference play.
After last season’s shortcomings, head coach Maggie Zentgraf and company brought in two transfers — sophomore defender Isabella Rockwell and sophomore midfielder Addison Haines — while also adding 12 first-years to bolster the roster.
With so many fresh faces on the team, Zentgraf emphasized the importance of integrating these women into the customs and traditions of the team before the first face-off in February.
“It’s almost a brand new team again,” Zentgraf said. “[It’s about] getting them all indoctrinated into the system, which we’re still trying to establish … Getting them [involved] with our culture, traditions, all that stuff has to happen in the fall … I feel like it was a big emphasis for us [this past] fall.”
Above all else, Zentgraf’s prevailing message was to take things one at a time.
“A big part of fall was focusing on each day,” Zentgraf said. “We actually had [days] of the week [dedicated to certain values] like ‘Mindset Monday,’ [or] ‘Teammate Tuesday,’ ‘Whatever-it-takes Wednesday,’ to just try and attack the day instead of thinking of it like, ‘Oh it’s a week day,’ or ‘Oh it’s fall ball.’”
However, those are not the only ways this team is building mental resiliency. As first-year goalie Samantha Wilson said, sometimes somebody has to be a leaning post.
“I was really stressed when I first came to college [after] I found out the other goalie transferred,” Wilson said. “I didn’t know what to do because I was worried about getting injured. Being able to step up to the plate, it [seemed] like a lot of pressure was being [placed on me]. [Assistant coach Meghan Deehan] helped lift me up for a lot of that. She gave me the confidence I needed to step into that cage. [Now], I feel like it’s a great opportunity to be the star in the cage.”
When it comes to personal player goals for this year, senior attacker Elise Latham hopes to leave a similar mark that the seniors of 2023 did for her.
“I’m very thankful and grateful to be in this position,” Latham said. “I think back to when I was a freshman and the [impact of] the upperclassmen who mentored me so well. I feel so blessed to be able to be that person for some of the freshmen on this team.”
Along with that, Latham wants to savor her swan-song season by making memories.
“My personal motto [this year] has been to enjoy every moment,” Latham said. “I’m only playing lacrosse for a couple more months, and I’ve been playing it for the last 10 years of my life. I’m really trying to invest in the [team] as much as I can — leave my mark.”
The overall success of this squad can not be judged until zeros hit the clock in their final game, but Zentgraf believes that as long as the standard remains high, this team can be one of the best the program has seen.
“We have high expectations for ourselves,” Zentgraf said. “One thing about this team [is that] we understand that you can’t skip steps. You have to do the little things really well [first].”
As the saying goes, you can not stop a Dawg chasing a bone. Currently, the Bulldogs find themselves with a 1-1 record, notching a win over Detroit Mercy in the season opener to surpass their 2025 win total. The Dawgs will look to continue to prove doubters wrong when they face Kent State on Feb. 21.
