Up-and-down year ends in NCAAs for Ryan, Drew

Bielamowicz, Bradshaw return to D-I tourney

By: Jim Green
   As Kaity Ryan came off the field following the Drew University women’s lacrosse team’s NCAA Division IIII Tournament second-round loss Saturday, one thought crossed her mind.
   "I was thinking that I was junior, and that I had had another chance to do it," the Hopewell Valley Central High School class of 2002 graduate said. "Some of my friends are seniors, and they were upset that we had lost, but I think they were most upset that they had to say goodbye to a sport they had played most of their lives. It’s such an emotional thing."
   Ryan and her Drew teammates already had been through the emotional wringer this season, battling back from a disappointing 1-3 start to capture the Middle Atlantic Conference title and advance to the NCAA Tournament with a dramatic 9-8 win over Messiah in the conference championship game.
   It marked the first appearance in the NCAA Tournament for every player on Drew, which captured the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament title last season.
   "Winning the MAC was really neat," Ryan said. "The last three years, we’ve made it to the championship and lost the championship game every year. It’s such a heartbreaker, especially as you get older. Just to win the MAC was a huge deal. And going into the NCAAs was such a huge adrenaline rush."
   Ryan, who was sixth on the team in scoring with 22 goals and 16 assists for 38 points, rose to the occasion in the postseason, scoring three total goals over the two rounds of the conference tournament. She raised her game another notch in the NCAA Tournament first round, netting two goals and two assists as the Rangers routed Gordon 18-2 at home in front of 136 fans.
   "It was awesome," Ryan said. "It was really fun. We did not think we would beat a team by that much in the first round.
   "We all played really well that day, and it felt really good to host the NCAAs and have everyone come out and cheer us at home."
   On Saturday, the dream run came to an end with a 22-7 loss to perennial power The College of New Jersey in the regional final at Gettysburg. Following the defeat, the Rangers were left with the knowledge that they might have been able to get even farther.
   "If we had played better in our earlier games, we wouldn’t have played such a tough team in the second round," Ryan said.
   Still, Ryan and her teammates take pride in the way they fought back from their early struggles.
   "At the beginning, we had some trouble clicking," she said. "In February, I did not think we would get as far as we did. I knew we had talent, but we didn’t have any superstars that could do it alone. When we finally achieved that, the only way we got as far as we did was by playing as a team."
   Ryan felt the team spirit reached its peak when the postseason began with a 19-7 win over Susquehanna in the MAC Tournament semifinals.
   "Postseason helps a team build confidence and build team unity," she said. "It definitely did this year. We were the last team on the Drew campus still playing this year. We all realized the fleeting moment of playing. We realized every game could be our last game of the season. Every year, when we get to that point, we’re thinking, ‘I’m not ready for this to end. I’m not ready to not go to practice anymore.’
   "That day, when we came out, we played with so much heart, and we were completely focused. I don’t know what it is. I can’t articulate it. It’s one of those surreal feelings you can’t understand from the outside, and you can’t really even understand it from the inside, but there’s something going on, and you’re a part of it, and it’s so inspiring."
   That team spirit led to an accomplishment all these Rangers will remember for the rest of their lives.
   "Winning MAC gave us a lot more energy, and it was just really neat, because it was the first time we did that, and we certainly had never done it as a team," Ryan said. "For the seniors, it was an opportunity for their season to keep going and to prolong their experience a little bit longer, and we all knew we couldn’t have gotten there without each person on the team."
• NOTES: Ryan isn’t the only HoVal class of 2002 grad excelling at college lacrosse.
   Goalie Sue Bielamowicz and attack Amanda Bradshaw helped Colgate University get back to the NCAA Division I Tournament for the second straight year. The Raiders defeated Lehigh and Holy Cross to capture the Patriot League title before falling to Boston University 12-6 in the NCAA first round on May 12. Bradshaw had a goal in the win over Lehigh, and Bradshaw had 15 total saves, picking up the win in each contest.
   Kaley Bell was an honorable mention selection to the 2005 North Coast Athletic Conference women’s lacrosse team. Bell, a junior at Kenyon College in Ohio, led the conference with 3.83 points per game. She scored 30 goals and had 16 assists.
   Bell recently was named a Kenyon co-captain for 2006.