'Women’s Varsity'
Picture Day!
Picture Day for the U15, U13, U11, and U9 Boys will be Wednesday May 2 during normal practice times. All players please wear your game uniforms to practice and bring your Missoula Lacrosse sweatshirts as well. Team and individual photos will be taken by Legends Photography. Order forms will be available on picture day, and will also be given to players on Monday, April 30 to take home with them. Players are not required to have individual photographs taken, and all players will be given a team photograph.
Practice Time Change!
Practices will now be 4:30-6:30 MWF to allow kids more time to get to practice after school. Please show up as early as you can so that you have pads and helmets on at 6:30 and are ready to go. The coaches will be there at 6:00 if you want some individual attention before practices start.
March 12 Practice reminder
Please make sure to bring bring a water bottle and dress for the weather. It looks like we will have rainy conditions all week. I will be on hand to collect any forms you may not have turned in yet.
Those players who have their lime green game pinnie from 2011, please bring it to every practice. We have a few lime green pinnies that new players can use for practices.
We will get jerseys and shorts for games, but please bring the old pinnies to practices to demarcate offense and defense in drills.
U13s and U15s to practice March 12
Practices for both the U13s and U15s will start Monday March 12. Practices will run from 4-6:00pm at White Pine Park. White Pine Park is located on Scott Street just north of the railroad tracks. Please remember that Whie Pine Park does not have water or bathrooms, so use a bathroom before you arrive for practice and bring a water bottle to practice. Players will need to have mouthguards to participate in any contact drills, and all players must have signed medical consent to treat forms. The forms are in the registration packet. Please print one out from the website and bring it along to practice if you didn’t turn it in with your registration form. I will have some consent to treat forms at the practice field if you forget completely.
Also, if you were storing a net, please bring the net to the field on the 12th.
Re: available equipment. There will be a limited amount of equipment available with a priority for first-year players. The U9 and U11 kids will have the first shot at the equipment.
-Tim Bechtold
U13s practice to start March 12.
Weather permitting, the U13s will start outdoor practices on Monday March 12 from 4-6pm. Check back here for updates as we get closer to the date.
Girls Fall Lacrosse
Attention all lady laxers! Missoula Elite Lacrosse is proud to announce that we will be hosting 6 FREE Fall Sessions of lacrosse this year! These sessions are open to ALL Girls Lacrosse players (all ages, including college and adult) and again, are FREE!
Join us at Meadow Hill School from 1-3 PM on the following Sundays: Sept 11th, Sept 18th, Sept 25th, Oct 2nd, Oct 9th, and Oct 16th.
New and returning players are welcome, bring a friend too because it’s FREE! Come help us grow the Missoula women’s lacrosse culture and prepare for another great season!
Please contact Coach Bona-Eggeman at 406-531-4092 or biggitybones@hotmail.com with any questions. Thank you.
High School Girls Spring Preview
Missoula Elite girls have a solid schedule shaping up and we are super excited to welcome back the returning players as well as a good turnout of new players. February 8th and 9th is the unofficial kickoff to the season with Free Open Gym at C.S. Porter Middle School. This is a great opportunity to bring out new players who are interested in trying out the sport of lacrosse and for returning players to shake off some of the cob webs of winter.
Open gym will also be a great time to come meet the new assistant girls varsity Coach Meredith Daviess. Meredith comes from Bainbridge, Washington and is a certified lacrosse referee. She has previous coaching experience in Bainbridge and coached the Missoula Elite middle school program in 2010. We are also very excited to announce that Lindsey Fahy-Hoerner has moved the Portland, Oregon where she will be coaching girl’s varsity lacrosse at Central Catholic High School. This is Central Catholic’s inaugural year of lacrosse and Lindsey is well versed at starting a program from the ground up. We know she is going to do a great job at Central Catholic but she will be very missed by many here in Missoula. Thanks Lindsey and good luck with your season.
The official start of Missoula Elite Girls Lacrosse is March 7th. Our first tournament is March 19th in Wenatchee, Washington. The Wenatchee Jamboree is looking to host around 9 squads from around that West and a good portion from Western Washington. This tournament will bring some excellent competition for the Elite.
On April 16 the ladies will be traveling to Kennewick, Washington for the Three Rivers Shoot-Out. This will be our second year attending this event. This tournament is in a great setting, great competition and it of course is fun to show our Montana Pride in this regional tournament.
We will travel to Spokane, Washington on April 30th for a tournament hosted by Gonzaga Prep. It is an experience as well as fun playing on their classy turf!
The next host will be Sandpoint, Idaho on May 7th. There will hopefully be a number of teams traveling over for this tournament.
The Montana Lady Griz lacrosse team will be matching up with Elite on a Thursday lacrosse showdown. This date is TBA.
May 21st is Missoula Elite’s Jamboree. This is an all program Jamboree to celebrate our season and play some lacrosse. Everyone from the Squirt, Middleschool Girls/Boys to the Varsity Teams will be out playing on this day. This day will be the culmination of all our work from the season and be a showcase of not only the sport of lacrosse but the lacrosse community we have built.
The coaches have been working hard since last season ended to improve our skills as coaches for the betterment of the Missoula Elite program. This 2011 season is bringing a whole new level of enthusiasm for the sport of lacrosse to Missoula and the rest of Montana. Elite continues to blaze a trail for the rest of the state of Montana when it comes to the sport of lacrosse but the mania seems to be catching on around the state. I cannot tell you how excited I am for the season to start.
See you in the GYM!!!!! Coach Bona
Shootout Re-Cap: Women’s Varsity
KENNEWICK, WA – The women’s varsity traveled to the Tri-Cities this past weekend for the Three Rivers Shootout. The much anticipated weekend led for a great weekend of lacrosse and a valiant effort on the women’s varsity team. After a very long drive to Richland, especially after Coach Bona and myself missed the turn for Pasco in Ritzville and drove all the way to Vantage, we arrived safe and sound along with all the girls and got some rest before the big day.
We arrived at the fields along the Columbia River for three games, first against Sandpoint/Gonzaga Prep. These two teams had to combine because they did not have enough girls. We saw some real intensity in the first game because the girls were so pumped up and ready to play some LAX. We put Sayre White (JR, Hellgate) in as starting center and we saw some great effort on Sayre’s part. She did an excellent job in as center and we saw a good deal of effort from Sayre and all the other girls as well. Karmella Mariscal (SR, Hellgate) scored her first goal ever for the team and also made some great assists. Kelsay Adcock (FR, Big Sky) played very well, scoring for Missoula Elite and also showing some great potential as center. Kelsay had many possessions at the center draw even though she was playing attack wing. We might be seeing Kelsay playing center in the near future! We also saw some fantastic saves from our goalie Sara Hanson (SR, Hellgate). Missoula Elite women’s varsity played very well in this game and ended with a victory against Gonzaga Prep and Sandpoint!
After the first game, Missoula Elite women’s varsity jumped into their next game against Wenatchee immediately. We saw a turnover from the first game game where Elite was dominating in offense to Wenatchee dominating in offense. Wenatchee was able to pick off most of the center draws and gain possession immediately, taking fast breaks to goal. They were able to keep the ball down in our goal and were making great cuts to goal. Elite’s defense was broken down from the lack of communication and also the amount of fouls against Elite. Coach Bona and myself saw some great effort out there even though our defense was broken down and we were not getting possession at the center draws. Cassandra Hintz (JR, Hellgate) played goalie for her first time ever during this game and she showed some major progress in her goal keeping and made some fantastic saves for Elite! For this game we also had to lend Kelsay Adcock, Julia Michels (FR, Big Sky) and a few others to Wenatchee because they did not have enough players to make a full team of 12. Both of these girls scored goals for Wenatchee but showed great sportsmanship for volunteering to play for the other team! Elite fell to Wenatchee 6-3 but the women’s varsity had a great shot at winning this game and hopefully in Spokane we will see a successful comeback!
After a a nice long lunch break we had our next game against Three Rivers. This was our most important game of the day because last season the girls were defeated by Three Rivers and they really wanted to come back to this game with full intensity and determination. This game was played 7 on 7 because Three Rivers were down a few players. We needed to see some major hustle out there in order to defeat Three Rivers both offensively and in defense. Luckily, we saw that from Elite. Jill Lindbergh (SR, Hellgate), our starting center, showed some great playing out there and made a few goals for Elite. Brooke Hess- Homeier (JR, Hellgate) did some great hustling out there and made some fast breaks to goal. We saw some great defense played by Carleigh LeBlanc (SR, Hellgate) and Hannah Leonard (SR, Hellgate). Both of these girls also scored goals. Sara Hanson was back in goal and made some excellent saves. Both of the twins, Emmi and Hannah Johnson (SRs, Hellgate), did some great hustling out there and showed some real potential in as attack and defensive wings. Gretchen Gerlach (SR, Hellgate) played both great offense and defense in this game and communicated very well with her teammates as acting feeder and calling plays. Makenna Risner (JR, Drummond) played very well also for her team and played great offense and made great cuts and assists in the 12 meter fan. Some of our younger players also did very well especially Haleigh Smith (FR, Sentinel) and Dessa Lennox (FR, Hellgate). We saw great defense from Haleigh and great offense from Dessa. Overall it was a great game and Elite came back with a victory over Three Rivers!
We would like to thank Three Rivers for hosting this event and would also like to thank the refs and the parents as well. Thank you parents for driving all that way! We wouldn’t be able to do it without you! Coach Bona and myself are looking forward to the next games at the tournament in Spokane at Gonzaga Prep on May 8th! Thanks again to everyone!
The Girls are Back in Town
The beginning of the women’s varsity season has been both exciting and challenging thus far. Our team has doubled in size from last years twelve players. This has been a very exciting progression for Missoula Elite Lacrosse as a whole. Word has spread fast in Missoula and lacrosse is becoming recognized in the state of Montana for being one of the most exciting sports to play! This has made both Coach Bona and myself very happy that we are able to teach the girls a sport that was once never recognized in Montana! Being able to be the first high school lacrosse coaches has had its challenges and rewards.
From what I have observed from the beginning of the season, many of the girls have picked up their sticks and learned very quickly. This has been very exciting because most of them have never seen a lacrosse stick in their entire lives. Many of the girls are young and athletic and suck in information like sponges. The returning players from last year have been extremely helpful with their fellow teammates, teaching them what they learned last year in our first season. As coaches, we are focusing on teaching the fundamentals of lacrosse. This is imperative for the beginning of the season because even the returning players have forgotten the basics. We are challenging them to learn the basics from offensive and defense positioning on the field, to cradling and catching and throwing. We are also teaching them advanced skills in lacrosse because they are able to learn things like this right fro the start! Our motto as coaches is teach the hard stuff first because they are able to learn it!
Spring break has also thrown us for a loop. We had to cancel our first game against Gonzaga Prep because many of the girls were away for spring break and still are. This was disappointing because last year we did not have the opportunity for so many games as we do this year. I am looking forward to having all the girls return from vacation and have our full team back. It is much easier for me as a coach to have all my players there ready and motivated for practice in preparation for our games! For a team to be solid, we need all the girls present in practice, willing to go the extra mile. Many of the girls have shown strong leadership roles and because of this we have elected team captains this year, Jill Lindbergh and Hannah Leonard. Both of these girls are returning players and seniors and I am excited to put them to work for the benefit of their team!
This weekend we have a scrimmage scheduled against the University of Montana women’s team. I am excited to see MEL’s women’s varsity team be challenged by the college. This game will be excellent preparation for our upcoming games. It will be a good learning process for the new girls to see how it feels to play in a real game and not just scrimmaging in practice. Some of our players will still be away on vacation during this game which is disappointing but we will have to make it work. Coach Bona and I are looking forward to a great season and hopefully many W’s this season! It is our goal as the coaches to challenge our players to their utmost ability! We know they are up for the task! Stayed tuned for more posts. Thanks. Coach Fahy
Women Notch First MEL Victory
On Saturday, May 9th, the Missoula Elite Lacrosse Women’s team traveled to Spokane, Washington, to play their first games in program history. The ladies from Montana took the field against Three Rivers in their first game and battled the hosting Gonzaga Prep Bullpups in their second game of the day. Much of the game against Three Rivers was spent explaining rules to the players, most of whom are brand new to the sport, and the girls took time to try and understand things like spacing and transition offense.
Midfielders Carleigh LeBlanc (JR, Hellgate) and Hannah Karlsson (SR, Hellgate) got the ball moving up the field and paced the team with a combined 11 groundballs during the game. Offensively, the MEL Women were led by Center Jill Lindbergh (JR, Hellgate) who finished the game with 2 goals, and Attacker Kate Liddle Broberg (SR, Hellgate) who ran the game at “X” and finished with 1 assist in the contest. Midfielder Makenna Reisner (SO, Hellgate) also tallied a goal in the game and Goaltender Sara Hanson (JR, Hellgate) had a solid game and finished with 7 saves. In the end, the final score read 9-4 in favor of Three Rivers, but there were many positive things for the Women from Missoula to take away from the game.
In their second game of the day, the MEL Women were ready to show off their hard work and came out fired to get their first win. Center Jill Lindbergh took control of the game from the start, winning every draw in the first half and going 3 for 3 shooting in the half. Lindbergh’s hustle was matched by many of the other MEL girls, including Midfielder Anna Pickard (JR, Hellgate) who finished with 4 groundballs and 3 goals in the game, and Midfielder Hannah Karlsson who finished with 6 groundballs and 2 goals. The team’s youngest players, Midfielders Kelsay Adcock (8th, Target Range) and Julia Michels (8th, Target Range) each had solid performances with Adcock displaying great speed in her transition game and Michels netting her first goal. Defender Hannah Leonard (JR, Hellgate) wouldn’t let the Bullpups really ever get settled on offense and Goaltender Sara Hanson had a huge second half, where she registered 7 saves on many point-blank shots. The fired up first half combined with some really solid goaltending in the second half would prove to be enough for the Women from Missoula, who earned their first win ever over the hosting Bullpups by the final score of 11-3.
Missoula Elite Lacrosse would like to thank the Gonzaga Prep Lacrosse program for hosting Saturday’s event and for the girls from Three Rivers and Sandpoint for making the trip to Spokane. Also, a huge thanks to all the parents who made the trip to Washington to support the girls and congratulations to Coach Fahy and Coach Bona for their first win!
