Women's Lacrosse Season Preview: Depth Defines a Team Set for Life in NCAC

2/24/2026 10:30:00 AM | By: Simon Boncaldo, Staff Writer

The Blue Streaks have a strong culture in place to meet the challenge

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS -- The Blue Streaks enjoyed an impressive 2025 campaign. With life in a new conference ahead, John Carroll Women's Lacrosse is on the hunt for more.

Following an impressive 2025 regular season last year, John Carroll lost a spirited battle at Mount Union in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.

Beyond the conference season, the Streaks made it into the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they got knocked out by #6 St. John Fischer. Despite the loss, the Blue Streaks made strides last year and truly turned heads not only in the OAC, but some nationally.

Now that the Blue Streaks have made a full transition into the North Coast Athletic Conference, the spotlight is on them to prove where they stand in this new conference. JCU tied for third in the conference's preseason coaches poll.

Kelsey Shewbridge, entering her third year as JCU's Head Women's Lacrosse Coach, is ready for life in the NCAC.

"We're excited for new opportunities and challenges. The NCAC has a high ceiling and plenty of depth in women's lacrosse. That's exciting for us, we welcome the challenge and head into year one with no expectations other than to compete at our highest level."

There is no doubt that there will be new obstacles this upcoming season, but sometimes these challenges aren't always external.

With the move to the NCAC, the Blue Streaks are also leaving behind some key talent from last season. Big impact players like Meghan Weiner, Olivia Hanulak, and Lauren Schwartz were all key players for the Blue Streaks. Losing leaders from both their defensive and offensive side.

Coach Shewbridge is one of the best recruiting talents in collegiate coaching, and has brought in quite the young talent across her last two seasons.

Not only will she bring back defensive standouts like Jill McDonnell, Mary Wymard and Emily Van Gorder, but Shewbridge is also returning two out of three of her highest scorers from last season in sophomore Abby Cassidy and junior Riley Knapp.

Not to mention, the excellent depth of talent this team showed last season, with nine players scoring double digit goals, and another 10 players tallying goals.

However, it's not just returning talent that Blue Streak fans should be excited about, but a whole new top tier class brought in by Coach Shewbridge and her team.

When asked about the incoming class, Shewbridge mentioned a large list of players that have excelled throughout the fall season.

The Blue Streaks brought in a host of nine new players in the offseason, eight freshman and a sophomore transfer.

This new talent along with the returners will be the first group to fully experience John Carroll Women's Lacrosse in the NCAC. Despite the incredible success from last season, the NCAC will post new challenges and obstacles for this Blue Streaks team.

"The biggest carryover for us is the focus on our culture and the bond between teammates, said Shewbridge about continuing the success into the new era. "We want to ensure that no matter what or who we face, we are resilient and compete until the end. We are intentional in focusing our efforts there, that's our foundation."

She also added that the Blue Streaks don't define their success, based on wins and losses, but rather by their identity and culture as a team.

There are two mottos that the Blue Streaks are using to embody the culture they desire to build.

The first is the acronym, F.A.M.I.L.Y. Standing for, "Fierce, Adversity, Mentality, Intention, Love and Yourself."

Another motto building the John Carroll Women's Lacrosse team, is "Own it". This is about owning every action and decision they make and pushing to hold each other to this standard.

If you're a Blue Streak Lacrosse fan, it's easy to get excited about the team that has been forged over in University Heights. And from the sounds of it, the team is only getting better.

John Carroll begins the campaign at home on Wednesday, February 25 vs. Baldwin Wallace at 6 pm.

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The Blue Streaks have a strong culture in place to meet the challenge

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