Rosiek preaches patience while team learns to win

Davidson, Easterday and others encouraged by newcomers

With only one win in 28 games, the past season and a half has been tough sledding for the St. Bonaventure women’s lacrosse team. But even with the struggles come bright spots.
For coach Chelsea Rosiek, the rest of the 2019 season revolves around competitiveness, building for the future and maintaining a hard-nosed attitude.
In her fourth year as head coach, Rosiek has just gotten started on a rebuild. With only two of her recruiting classes in and a team that features only 10 total upperclassmen, she has seen excellent growth from her underclassmen.
“It’s been a slower rebuilding process,” said Rosiek. “You wish it would happen sooner, but I have to fill a lot of spots. You need depth and experience. If you see any program that is highly successful in our conference, they have a large upperclassmen contingence of players and producers.”
While a lot of the underclassmen have been asked to take on larger roles this season, Rosiek said that freshmen Madison Mundenar and Rebecca Howe have stood out the most as newcomers.
“Rebecca and Madison have stood out in terms of point production,” said Rosiek. “Rebecca’s ability in the midfield is great. She has 22 draw controls, and she only started to see significant time during the third or fourth game of the season.”
Rosiek said, “Madison has the highest shooting percentage on our team. She hasn’t scored a lot, but when she does take it to the cage she scores 75 percent of the time. If we continue to give her reps and build her confidence, it will benefit us down the line.”
Ashley Easterday, playing both attack and midfield, has stepped up as a sophomore, scoring 13 goals and totaling 16 points. She, too, praised the play of Mundenar and Howe.
“The freshman have added good field awareness and IQ to our offense,” said Easterday. “Becca and Madison have great field awareness. They know their stuff. Just little things that enhance our game.”
Julia Davidson, attack, has also stepped up as a sophomore. She added on to Easterday’s praise of Mundenar and Howe, focusing on Mundenar’s stick skills and Howe’s rising confidence level.
“Madison has good stick skills, which helps us a lot,” said Davidson. “Rebecca has become confident as a ball handler. From the beginning of the season to now, she’s grown so much.”
As far as upperclassmen leadership, Rosiek said that she is counting on this year’s sophomore class to lead the rebuild, and bring the program back to success.
The Bonnies currently have 10 sophomores, and five of them have played significant minutes during their first two seasons. Davidson, Easterday and others will be at the forefront of the future.
“We have five girls in the sophomore class, Julia Davidson, Ashley Easterday, Savannah Clarke, Jessica Losquadro and Savannah Gonsiorek, that have started or played in every single game so far,” said Rosiek. “To have juniors that have two full seasons under their belt will make a huge difference in terms of leadership and confidence on the field.”
Although depth is what Rosiek looks forward to, it has also been one of the biggest issues for her young team. With nine defenders, most of them underclassmen, and one healthy goaltender, the Bonnies’ defense often becomes taxed during games.
“Clarke has been our only active goalie,” said Rosiek. “It’s been difficult for her. She doesn’t get a break, and she gets peppered constantly. She’s really taken on a huge load. She’s stepped up for our team, but not having a backup doesn’t help her confidence. Hopefully Haley Mclntyre, our freshman goalie, is healthy next year. I am also adding two more goalies in the incoming class.”
Rosiek said that the team has been making adjustments, shifting attack to midfield to provide a defensive boost.
“We’re top heavy on attack,” said Rosiek. “We’ve been moving attack to midfield. We’re making adjustments. Having another class of well-rounded athletes will help us become more competitive.”
Of those adjustments, Rosiek has already taken notice of her teams improved draw control ability.
“It starts with the draw. We’re inexperienced,” said Rosiek. “We’re getting a lot better. In our last game against George Mason, we went draw-for-draw with them in the second half.”
Though wins haven’t come, Easterday said that the team has maintained a positive, competitive and winning attitude, no matter the record or personal stats. A key aspect of a young team learning how to win.
“It’s hard to lose,” said the competitive-minded Easterday. “You can’t get down and think negatively. You have to go out on the field and act like you’re the best player.”
Easterday said, “In practice, I joke around and say ‘Hey I’m going to toast you, I’m going to beat you,’ you need to have that attitude.”
On top of maintaining a positive attitude, Davidson said that continuing to develop a strong team chemistry will play an important role in this young team’s development as the season winds down later this month.
“I try to work with them [freshmen] a lot,” said Davidson. “Even off the field. For us to build that chemistry with the freshmen will be important for us going forward. We, as sophomores, have two more years left with them.”
She said, “We’re building and growing every day. It’s been a learning experience. The chemistry we have built has been a positive.”
With another offseason looming, just five games remain on the 2019 schedule. Rosiek said she wants to see her team continue to compete and reach short-term milestones they haven’t yet met.
One of those goals: to have a 10-goal game, something they have only done once this season in a win over Kent State.
“I want to see us compete,” said Rosiek. “We need to get more shots on goal and more touches offensively. We’re not only playing for the rest of this season, but for how we approach next season.”
Regardless of record, Rosiek vowed to keep pushing, adjusting and motivating her team to believe that better things are ahead.
As the Philadelphia native knows all too well, giving up is not an option. And it never will be as long as she roams the sideline for the Brown and White.
“I recruit kids like Ashley, with a chip on their shoulder,” said Rosiek, with Easterday in agreeance. “We’re pushing for the Atlantic 10 tournament next year. We’re right there. We’re more competitive.”
Rosiek passionately said, “This program encapsulates Bonaventure. We’re always David, never Goliath. Anything we accomplish here is through hard work and effort. I knew taking over this program that it wasn’t going to happen overnight. It’s going to take belief.”