Women’s Lacrosse: Exclusive interview with head coach Lauren Morton

By Joe Eachus

Boston University women’s lacrosse head coach Lauren Morton is no stranger to adversity. Battling through a Covid-cancelled 2020 season, as well as Covid-restricted 2021 and 2022 seasons, her fifth year at the helm represents a return to normalcy after three seasons of challenges for the program.

WTBU Sports’ Joe Eachus was able to sit down with Morton for an exclusive interview about the challenges the team has faced the last several years, and what’s ahead for the Terriers this spring.

With BU’s fall scrimmage schedule behind them, Morton discussed positive takeaways for the newcomers to the squad, as well as the returning athletes who were able to have their first normal fall with the team.

Joe Eachus: The first thing I want to talk about was positives, negatives, takeaways from fall ball as a whole.

Lauren Morton: We returned so many people, especially offensively. So I think just getting and finding the chemistry pieces within some of those returners [was a positive]. We got a number of people back from injury, and we’re kind of still working through that. So I think one of the biggest things you want to come out of the fall is knowing what your identity is, knowing what some of your challenges may be or your gaps, but also knowing where our strengths are. That’s something we felt really strongly about. We were able to play a variety of different teams, and some new ones with Princeton and Delaware. Being able, for us, to know the level of work ethic we have to practice with consistently was something we took out.
Just some positives, certainly getting [sophomore attack] Matty Spaeth with another year of experience for her. Across the board, our sophomore class has been really strong. They’ve stepped into some big roles, again with having another season under their belts. Across the board, we’ve also had some really bright spots with our freshmen. They all got a lot of time this fall.
We think, definitely, consistency is still one of the biggest areas of improvement for us. From top to bottom, game IQ from game experience, that’s been something we’ve been able to see in decision making and controlling the game. Those pieces, even from last year into this fall has been a positive. For us, we need to work on tightening up some of the fundamentals and the skill pieces.
[Assistant coach] Shay [Clevenger] has been a great addition for us in terms of tweaking our defense, and I think the girls have really bought into that. So I think those are some big positives. We obviously are going to have work to do, but we know what we have to work on, which is important.

JE: As far as getting players reps during fall ball, was the emphasis on getting the freshmen adapted to the college game, and making sure the sophomores still have that adaptation from last year?

LM: Certainly the freshman, I would say there’s nothing like game experience, nothing can replicate it. Getting them those opportunities was important. Siri Hodgins made a huge impact on the defensive end. Jayne Feeney, who’s a midfielder, will make a huge impact. Getting them live game reps was something that was so important, because the speed of the game is so much faster at the college level, and just decision making and all of that, and the skill.
Our sophomores play a really big role, a lot of them have come into their roles and they have a better level of confidence, both in themselves and knowing what to expect. Both our sophomores and our juniors now have their feet underneath them. Putting them in positions to lead and being able to have the ball in their sticks more, all of that, and make some impact plays was really good to see.

JE: You mentioned the freshman class, all eight of them, so what can you say about your new class?

LM: They’re workers. That’s something our upperclassmen have noticed about them. They’re definitely a put-their-head-down-and-work type. They really want to buy in and help us elevate and transform the program. They spend a lot of time on their own, whether it’s watching film or doing individuals with us. I’ve been so impressed with their mentality and their work rate. When you’re open minded and willing to work hard, you’re going to grow, and that’s been something across the board.
They’re such workers. They set such a good example of who we want to be, just continuing to push themselves in the weight room and on the field. So we’ve been really, really impressed. We knew they were all really good players and they could contribute. It’s a matter of what you do once you get here, so I’ve been impressed with their ability, their time management and all of that, continuing to work.

JE: And on the other end of things with the upperclassmen, who among them is setting that example for the younger guys?

LM: Last year, we gained a ton of experience, within our now juniors and seniors. Lauren Kaye really stepped up into more of a leadership role and played a lot more last year. [Juniors] Quinn Ferry and Ellen Monahan as well, and we do get [graduate] Maggie Lohrer back for a seventh year who is such a great returner for us.
We do have some really strong complementary pieces personality-wise. Getting [senior] Jen Barry back on the draw, we’re excited to see her be just as much of a strength on the offensive end. [Junior] Tobey Tick is another person who really just blossomed from sophomore to junior year, and I think she has more of an expectation for herself. She’s really put a lot of work in over the summer.
A lot of our returners play, so for them just being able to continue there, whether it’s Lauren and Jen and Teagan [Lucchese] on the offensive end, Claire [Gola] in the midfield who’s been consistent for us, and defensively with Maggie, Ellen, and Quinn has been great. And our goalies have really pushed each other, Reilly [Agres] and Arielle [Hammer] have both competed (we flipped back and forth at times last year), and they’ve continued to have a really good battle, for sure.

JE: Now, we can’t fully talk about this season without talking about last season. Obviously, it didn’t go the way anybody wanted it do. But still, what can you take away from last season that you can bring into this season?

LM: Number one, what we’ve talked about is a lot of the work we do now, with our skills and our mentality, and with how important practices translate into play. You can’t flip a switch in the spring. That’s something our team has really responded to, just their commitment level overall, in this out-of-season period. I hear a lot of them talking about that they don’t want to feel the way we did, and what can we do to control that?
What we can control has been a big focus for us, working on our mental game and the skills there. We know we’re a lot more experienced now, we had a lot of bumps with injuries and some of the Covid challenges. But across the board, getting into that rhythm consistency-wise and just what can we learn, ultimately still reminding ourselves, what can we learn from those game situations?
Your back’s pushed up against the wall, things didn’t go as you thought they would, and the resiliency and grit that comes with that. Wanting to work now, being able to impact the results in the spring. We don’t talk a lot about it, each year is a new year and each team is a new team. But it’s something that I know our upperclassmen think a lot about and use it more as a motivating factor than anything else.

JE: Would you say that while you want to turn the page, at the same time you can also use last season’s difficulties as motivation to move into this season and compete at a high level?

LM: I’m a big believer that if we do things the same way, why would we get a different result? So that’s a big challenge for us as a staff, the way we’ve structured our off-season program, the way we’ve structured our expectations. Just the way we run everything. But I also think the way the team and the girls approach everything. The mindset is that if we want a different result, we have to go about things differently. That’s added to the cumulative effect of doing more film, more individual work, being able to get out there and do more workouts. So that’s something that you can’t do the same exact thing and expect a different result. That’s where that piece has been motivating and been at the forefront for a lot of their minds.

JE: Now for this season, if you had to pick one thing, what’s the goal?

LM: Consistency. Winning is great, we have a lot of talent. That means nothing if we don’t work, if we don’t take care and focus on ourselves. How we practice that week, that was a big lesson this fall is how we practice definitely matters. And again, you can’t just flip a switch. So just the habits we’re building. We have a lot of really strong elements to be dynamic, whether on the draw, on the offensive end, in our clearing game. Ultimately, that consistency piece and being the same team while also being able to grow. Consistency top-to-bottom is the biggest thing that I want us to do, each game to put our best team out there and play our best and not be worried about opponent and things like that. I think that’s where the score does take care of itself.

JE: On the practice field, how are things going so far?

LM: Everything’s been good. Again, top-to-bottom, we have a lot of talent. Right now, it’s figuring out who works well together, who fits different roles, getting the offense and defense to gel and build that chemistry. Again, I think that the reason why consistency would be my main goal for the spring, is that there will be moments where we’ll have two great days, and then a day where, “oh, school’s hard,” or something like that. Again, not letting outside factors and outside variables affect us. That comes with maturity, and just being able to really focus on where your feet are.
We’ve had some great days, and we’ve had some days where we have to refocus ourselves. We’ve had a lot of growth, there’s been a lot of learning, which you want during the fall period. We’ve had more competitive practices, they’re willing to push one another. It’s been a step in the right direction for our program, that they all want to be there and get better. That’s definitely translated, but I’d like us to continue to be more consistent within our weeks, not just having a great Monday and an okay Tuesday. Being able to string a few good days in a row to start. That goes more to the mental side of the game and preparation.

JE: And ahead to the spring, based on what you’ve seen so far, can this team compete for a Patriot League title?

LM: I do. I think definitely, we have to continue to grow and find our rhythm in some areas. We’ve got a lot of athleticism. Having Jen back on the draw puts us in a position to have more possessions than the other team, which we certainly have a lot of. For us, when we’re competing and working hard and working together, this is a dynamic group. For us, it’s still finding that rhythm and doing that on a consistent basis. And also, asking a lot of our younger guys. We’re going to ask a lot of our sophomores and even our freshmen at times. But they’re very capable.
We do have the talent. It’s a challenge for us as coaches to put them in the right positions, putting them together, and being able to make sure they’re confident in themselves. Returning so many players with another year of experience under their belt, after what they dealt with the last few years, really puts us in a good spot.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.