A year ago, Bryn Mawr lacrosse coach Kim Simons was prepared for an uneven season, which was reflected in an 8-8 record. It's what can happen when a team starts three freshmen defenders in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference.
"We were absolutely average," said Simons, who shares coaching duties with Wendy Kridel. "We haven't had too many seasons like that here." It was the poorest finish since the Mawrtians went 9-10 in 2006.
Expectations are higher this season because those inexperienced players now have varsity experience and there is also a junior varsity, which the program didn't have last year when there weren't enough players to fill two teams.
"If we finish this season with the same record as last year, it will be disappointing," Simons said.
The core group is talented enough to keep Bryn Mawr competitive in a conference dominated by six-time defending champion McDonogh, which won its national record-setting 112th consecutive game in last May's championship game.
"Every coach knows the reality of the league," Simons said. "To say otherwise, you're kidding yourself. To beat McDonogh, you're going to have to do something special. They know how to win because they've been winning for a long time."
Princeton University-bound senior Alex Argo gives the Mawrtians an anchor, whether she's at midfield or low defense.
"She's just so smart and has the athletic ability to get the job done wherever she plays," Simons said.
Senior attackers Julia Feiss (University of Denver) and classmate Lily Fisher lead an offense that struggled last season.
Vanderbilt University recruits Julie Blaze and Hadley Brown will play midfield while seniors Anna Hart and Maddie Stuzin patrol the backline in front of either Maia Faraone or fellow freshman Maddie Grant in the goal.
Having rookie goaltenders is something Bryn Mawr has gotten used to the last couple of years.
In 2013 it was senior Ellie DeGarmo's turn to earn quality playing time after backing up current Loyola Maryland University goalie Molly Wolf for a couple of seasons.
DeGarmo, by the way, owned a sparkling 5.16 goals-against average in Princeton's first four wins this spring while Wolf has started 47 straight games between the pipes for the Greyhounds.
Last season, Maggie Kane, who sat behind DeGarmo two years ago, grabbed the starting role and played well in front of an raw defense.
Even so, DeGarmo and Kane were seniors, meaning Faraone and Grant will have to mature more quickly in the crease than their predecessors.
Friends
With seven retuning starters, the Quakers are out to prove they are the class of the IAAM B Conference again.
Friends won its second title in three years last May, routing Glenelg Country in the final, 18-6.
The Quakers could be just as good this spring.
"We are strong all across the field," Friends assistant coach Anne McGinty said. "We graduated a bunch of seniors. We graduated a bunch of seniors, but we are trying to put together the best team we can make it back to the championship. We are going to figure it out."
Friends may be strongest at midfield, where seniors Rachel Kehoe (UMBC), Kailie Saudek and Caitlin Donovan return.
They'll be feeding an attack led by junior Marli Caplan and Irene Lunt.
Senior Lynne Cullen and junior Sarah Corcoran are the leaders of the defense.
McGinty and head coach Mandy Hudson are confident junior goalie Annie Blalick can replace four-year starter Rose Woolson.
"She held up fine in the first couple of tests," McGinty said of a 15-4 win over IND and a 9-8 loss to Park. "She will step up and we are excited to have her in the net."