It’s almost spring and you know what that means; lacrosse season is under way.

Mercyhurst College can be very proud of its men’s and women’s lacrosse teams.

Each is highly ranked in its conferences and each is off to an incredible start.

Both teams stand undefeated with a record of 3-0. The success of the Mercyhurst lacrosse teams has come with a lot of hard work from a lot of hard-working players.

Although the women’s team graduated a lot of players last year, many girls have stepped up to fill these spots, boosting the team’s confidence and play.

The Lakers are ranked fifth in the nation, a huge accomplishment for a team that has the talent to make it to the NCAA tournament this season.

“We are trying to keep the name ‘Mercyhurst’ in the rankings because we know that we have the talent to do so,” said junior Kim Masterton. “We just have to prove it to everyone else.”

Masterton is trying each day to work to the best of her ability so that at the end of the season she is able to look back and have no regrets. Masterton has been named womenslacrosse.com Division II Player of the Week and is currently the leading scorer for the Lakers.

“We have a totally different team than last year and our expectations for success this season are still very high,” senior Kristie Jennings said.

Jennings recognizes that success is not going to be handed to the team, and they will have to work hard the whole season.

“Coming off the success that we achieved last year, all the other teams that we face this season are gunning to beat us, and we aren’t looked upon as being the underdogs anymore,” Jennings said.

The team members are pushing each other to be better as every individual brings something unique to the game. Jennings added that the team is successful because of the skill level that every player brings to the team from the goaltenders, to the defense, midfielders and attack.

Men’s lacrosse is off to an equally incredible start. Their expectations for the season are to do well in the East Coast Conference and compete for the national championship.

Rookie freshman Brian Scheetz has proved a big contribution to the men’s lacrosse team. He was recently named East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week and has helped lead the Lakers to victories so far this season.

“I am trying to gain as much knowledge from the coaches and players around me, trying to make myself and our team better as a whole,” Scheetz said. In the off-season the team’s hard work is starting to show, and their positive attitude has led to early successes thus far.

“I think our team is still getting better and learning each other’s tendencies. That will only make us better down the road,” Scheetz said.

Great things can be expected from the men and women’s lacrosse teams this season. Could this be a year of national championships?