Lacrosse 150 series Part 2: Women's field lacrosse at Trent University has made an impact in just a decade
By Tori WassonSpecial to The Examiner
The second in a monthly series of columns celebrating Peterborough's 150 years of lacrosse this year leading up to a week of celebrations from June 23 to Canada Day weekend.
The Trent University women's field lacrosse team is thrilled to be included in the 150th year of Peterborough lacrosse.
We have only been around for less than a decade, but in that short time we have solidified ourselves into the fabric of Peterborough lacrosse with three championships which could not have been achieved without the local talent and support of this community.
In 2013, Ashley Curtis and myself were coaching for the Kawartha Lacrosse Club organization and noticed that many of the local girls were not playing after high school. They would often go to Trent and would not have an opportunity to play their sport.
We approached the university with the idea of building a program. Bill Byrick gave us his support with the promise of building a championship team.
The Excalibur women's field lacrosse team started in the fall of 2013 and was self-funded for the first three years.
The coaches started the team as a way to give back to lacrosse and provide a high performance pathway in the sport for female student-athletes at Trent.
In the Trent Arthur newspaper's debut article on the team I had commented that the "the coaches hope to build a program that will win an OUA championship in four years" and the team won its first gold medal in 2016.
We have since carried on the tradition of winning with a bronze in 2018, gold in 2019 and gold in 2021.
Our entire coaching staff has built a team culture with high performance goals that set the team on a pathway to success and they did not give in to any adversity along the way.
We have graduated doctors, nurses, and teachers who are all eager and ready to coach in the community.
Local players are at the core of our team and serve as our leaders. They are thrilled to represent and play for their local university.
Leah Ogilvie was our first local player to help build our championship team in 2016.
She was then joined by many other local players including her sister Allie Ogilvie and Emily Hiltz, Mikayla Hicks, Lexis Hill, Dawson Hill, Meg Bethune, Mary Coughlin, and Kristin Mann.
We were able to compete against larger universities such as Western and Queen's in a few short years. The 2016 team established Trent University as a dominate force in women's lacrosse.
During our 2018 bronze medal debut and 2019 championship we carried seven local players each year, and currently have six local players that played in the 2021 championship.
It is important that there is a place in Peterborough for women to excel at a sport they love at a high performance level. They also receive a phenomenal education and can give back to the community.
We cannot wait to celebrate this 150-year milestone in June with all the other phenomenal lacrosse organizations and fans in Peterborough.