The No. 4 Lady Cougars aim to build on past success with young talent this season.
DALLAS, Pa. — Misericordia has been known as a yearly tournament team in NCAA Division three over the last decade plus.
The Cougars are ranked fourth in the country through six games this season and are coming off a Sweet 16 exit in last year’s playoffs.
One of the differences this season though, is the influx of young players expected to contribute.
“They’re excited to play for each other every single day, whether they’re training or
whether they’re playing,” said head coach, Mark Stauffer. “I think as long as you keep mindsets in the right place, we have the talent to win the matches we’re looking to win,” said Stauffer.
Playing for a program as successful as the Lady Cougars can make it difficult to leave past success behind. However, the players all know it’s a new team and a new season.
“Just to realize the mistakes we made and to not make them in the future and… take it in the new season to get better at so you don’t make those same mistakes,” said Caelan Gallagher, a senior on the team. “We are a really young team. We had to start from the bottom through many things, but we’re working really fast to get back up to success,” said Gallagher.
Gallagher tore her left ACL during her sophomore season. Now that she has a year of recovery said and done, she’s looking to take a step up in her game in her senior season.
Scheduling reserve matches as exhibitions are a way the team is using through the early part of the season to get their younger players up to speed.
When asked about words of motivation, the team had a few ideas.
“The big one is Stauffer loves details, but I’ll hear that in my sleep sometimes,” said Olivia Maniskas, jokingly. She then pointed to the tape around her wrist with the word “energy” written on it.
“We write every game a different word. Today is energy, like we’ll write words like that, and we’ll just repeat it to ourselves and that’s the word for the game to focus on,” said Maniskas.
Other words the team has used so far are “90-90”, “one”, “together”, and “confidence”
“We always have to look at our wrist to remind each other to keep ourselves accountable and to always play for each other,” said Gallagher.
The team’s latest reserve match was played on Tuesday, just days before the team’s match with No. 1 Messiah. After the nationally ranked matchup with the Messiah Falcons, the team will face local foe in the Scranton Lady Royals.
The two drew a tie in their last two matches, with the Lady Cougars pulling off a 1-0 lead the year prior.
After that match, the Cougars will face another nationally ranked team in No. 23 Rochester.
“They’re just excited to go out and play every day. We’re going to be a better team in October than we are today for sure, and hopefully we’re peaking in November
when it really matters for us,” said Stauffer.