DURANGO, Colo. – Led by a key group of returners and a deep roster, the Fort Lewis College women's lacrosse team is looking ahead to its season opener one week from today to kick off a 16-game regular-season slate.
Looking Back
The Skyhawks turned in an overall record of 5-12 last season with a 5-7 clip in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. The season came to an end with a loss to No. 3 Regis University in the RMAC Tournament opener. Fort Lewis was 2-5 at home and 3-6 on the road in 2022.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the team had three players named to the All-RMAC teams. Headlining the group was goalkeeper Averi Basso who was named RMAC Co-Goalie of the Year to go along with First Team All-RMAC honors. Basso faced 510 shots last season and ranked fourth in the conference in saves percentage (40.7) and saves per game (9.94).
Representing Fort Lewis on the Second Team All-RMAC list was one of the league's top defenders in Rebecca Kiyokawa. Kiyokawa started all 16 games and set a school record in ground balls (42, 2.63/game) and caused turnovers (25, 1.56/game). The honor was the second All-RMAC pick-up for the Oregon native after earning First Team recognition in 2021.
Haley Dostie was the final representative for Fort Lewis, earning All-RMAC Honorable Mention nods to go along with being named to the RMAC All-Tournament Team after the season finale. Dostie led the team with 35 goals while ranking eighth in the conference with 2.19 goals per game.
In addition to the success on the field, Fort Lewis had 10 student-athletes named to the Academic All-RMAC list, headlined by Basso and Kiyokawa on the First Team. Fort Lewis was one of four institutions to have multiple representatives on the First Team. The Skyhawks also placed eight student-athletes on the All-Academic Honor Roll in Jillian Byron, Maren Clark, Kylee Cosse, Liv Crawford, Makena Carter, Caprietta Abbadessa, Alyssa Strough, and Kaylin Vanzant.
The Schedule
The Skyhawks will play 16 games this season, including 10 conference games which begin in March. Fort Lewis opens the season on Tuesday, February 21 with a neutral site game versus Bates College. It will be the first-ever meeting between the programs with the game scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start in Colorado Springs. The non-conference schedule continues into March when the team makes its home debut against Lewis University on Tuesday, March 7 at 2:00 p.m. This will also be the first meeting between the programs.
Following the home game, the Skyhawks are on the road for six-straight games. It starts with a pair of conference games against Colorado Mesa University (Friday, March 10) and Westminster College (Sunday, March 12). The team will then head south to spend spring break in Arizona, playing Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, and the University of Arizona from March 24-26.
Late March to late April will feature five home games and three road games before the RMAC Tournament kicks off. The Skyhawks will play at home against UCCS (Friday, March 31), Regis University (Sunday, April 2), Colorado Mesa (Friday, April 14), Westminster College (Sunday, April 16), and CSU Pueblo (Saturday, April 22). The RMAC Tournament begins on Friday, May 5 with the semifinal round, leading into the championship game on Sunday, May 7. The high seed in the tournament will play host to all four programs.
2023 Women's Lacrosse Schedule
Who's Back?
The trio of Basso, Dostie, and Kiyokawa will be named to look out for this season as each brings a wealth of experience across the field. Basso enters her senior season after establishing a school record last season with 159 saves (9.94/game). The Oregon native currently ranks second in career saves (270), third in career victories (nine), and fourth in career save percentage (40.2). Kiyokawa is another name that is scattering the record book in various categories. The senior tied a single-season school record with seven assists while setting the single-season record in ground balls (42, 2.63/game) and caused turnovers (25, 1.56/game). Also hailing from Oregon, Kiyokawa enters the season ranked eighth in career ground balls (84), seventh in caused turnovers (42), and seventh in draw controls (62).
Dostie is prepped to lead the attacking front after pacing the team in scoring last season. She enters her junior season ranked third in career goals per game (2.03), sixth in career points per game (2.42), 12th in career goals (57), and 13th in career points (68). Also returning to the offensive mix is Ellie Martinez who ranked second on the roster with 24 goals in 2022. The junior had eight multi-goal games last season, including a four-goal outing versus UCCS on April 24. Basso, Dostie, Kiyokawa, and Martinez were selected as RMAC Preseason Players to Watch for the Skyhawks.
In addition to the players highlighted above, Fort Lewis is poised to benefit from depth at multiple positions this season—a luxury after experiencing a multitude of injuries to various players throughout the 2022 campaign. Caprietta Abbadessa returns as a dynamic midfielder who netted 19 goals to go along with 28 draw controls last season. She owns 37 career goals and a career shots on goal percentage of 77.8. Autumn Rymerson joins Abbadessa at midfield after leading the team with 42 draw controls (2.63/game) last season.
On defense, the Skyhawks will see big minutes from seniors JoJo Lutz and Makena Carter. Lutz enters her fifth season in the blue and gold having played in 26 career games. An All-RMAC performer in 2021, she will enter the year with career numbers of 45 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers. Carter battled back from injury last season to see the field in 11 games. She had 12 ground balls to bring her career number to 26.
"We return Basso who we expect to do huge things for her senior season, and we expect her to be a key to the strong defensive unit that we have this season. Kioyokawa returns with a ton of experience and is super aggressive with a high lacrosse IQ that will help all across the field. We anticipate Dostie will pick up right where she left off last season in goal-scoring on our attack. She's going to take on more of a leadership role on the attacking side and be aggressive on the redefend.
We also return other key players on defense in Jojo Lutz and Makena Carter. The duo is expected to make a huge impact on defense and will bring a ton of game experience. We bring back a lot of depth at the midfield position in Martinez, Rymerson, and Abbadessa. Look for those three to help on both sides of the ball and in transition for us."
- Head Coach Ashley Travis
Fresh Faces
The Skyhawks have added five freshmen to the mix, hailing from Arizona, California, Idaho, and Texas. Additionally, Valerie Garcia will see the field this season after using a redshirt last year. Garcia will add depth to the attack after gaining valuable experience in the offseason.
True freshmen Zio Delgado and Samantha Rodgers will fill in on defense while Sydney Tannaci is primed to hold down the midfield. Reese Wilson rounds out the goalkeeper position and Marissa LaCivita will be seen on the attack in 2023.
"We have a strong core of newcomers this season. We expect to see big things out of Garcia on the attacking side. She sees the field extremely well and will be vital in many of our attacking sets. The new players are well-rounded and give us depth all around the field which will be important as the season progresses."
Around the RMAC
After a dominant 2022 season, Regis University was selected as the favorite to earn the conference crown this season. The Rangers were tabbed as preseason No. 9 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA). Colorado Mesa University follows at number two and ranks No. 22 in the IWLCA preseason poll. UCCS follows closely behind, and Fort Lewis and Westminster sit in a tie for fourth in the league heading into the opening week of play.
"The RMAC is always a strong conference with two teams ranked in the top 25 of the country in Regis and CMU. We hope to catch up with those teams this season. We believe that this seasoned team of veterans and our newcomers can be up there with the top dogs. Regis graduated a very talented class with Attacker and Defender of the year last season, and that provides an opening for somebody to take that top spot."
What to Watch For
"This season our team has been very strong and has some very high expectations of themselves. They worked super hard in the offseason and all fall and see the potential they have this year. We have a great group of girls that have meshed super well together - the freshman hopped right in and became part of the family from day one which has helped to build the winning culture we want to have the season. The whole team has so much excitement and energy for the season to begin."
2023 Fort Lewis College Women's Lacrosse
