By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Katie and Emma Consoli started to lay the groundwork for this lacrosse season months before it started.
“We have both been through a lot with this team and I think one of the biggest flaws in past years has been our culture,” said Emma, one of the two senior twins on the Hun School girls lacrosse team. “But this season it really hasn’t been that much of an issue. We have worked really hard since the first day of winter pre-season to make sure that this team and this culture was strong and unified and nothing was going to get in our way this year.”
The Raiders won their second straight when they topped Monroe, 16-11, on Monday to improve to 5-6 on the season. With the Mercer County and state Prep A tournaments about to get underway, the Raiders are hoping their newfound culture makes a difference.
“I try and see what our culture is every year and find our flaws and fix them as quickly as possible,” Katie Consoli said. “I do a lot of communicating with Coach (Liz Cook) to see if we can change it inside the locker room when she is not necessarily there.
“We did a lot of captains lifts and captains practices in the winter and that really helped us.”
After a 3-6 start, Hun seems to have turned the corner. They are seeded 10th for the Mercer County Tournament and will face seventh-seeded Pennington in the opening round today at Pennington at 4:15.
“We would love to get into the tournament and make it far and maybe win,: Katie said after a 16-5 win over Mercersburg last Saturday. “If we keep playing like we played today I don’t think we’ll have a problem going as far as we want to go.”
Having two leaders like the Consoli sisters certainly helps. Neither will light up the scoreboard but both make a huge impact. “They are awesome,” Cook said. “They have been instrumental in building the culture of our team. They are both going to William Smith next year and they are invaluable to me. They are incredible players and versatile players. They are playing mostly on defense right now but they do anything I ask them.”
The sisters knew that building a strong foundation over the winter was going to be essential to success on the field in the spring.
“We do a lot over the winter,” Emma said. “We would be out as a team throwing it around in the winter in the rain and snow. We went on our spring break trip to South Carolina and a bunch of girls came and it was really good for us as a team to get our stickwork under us and get our team culture down. It was a great bonding experience.”
Allie Callaway scored five times and Shannon Dudeck added three goals in the win over Monroe. Against Mercersburg, Dudeck and Kate Davis each scored four times.
“It is a confidence builder,” Cook said after the win over Mercersburg. “We have a tough schedule and we have had some close games an a couple blowouts. So for us this was a game we really needed to win. I wanted to come through this with a win and it was a great confidence builder to come out and play two strong halves.”
as the season winds down, Katie and Emma Consoli can start to look at their next chapter, which will be playing together at the college level.
“We got recruited together and both fell in love with the school and with the coach so it was a perfect match for both of us,” Katie said.
So the two will be able to continue playing together after four great years with the Hun varsity.
“We play really well together,” Emma said. “I think when I first hurt myself last year it affected Katie’s play a little bit. We have played together basically our entire lives. So we are just a unit.
“I am coming back from an ACL injury and didn’t play at all last year. I just hopped right back in. Before my injury I was a midfielder but wherever she needs me I am going to go.”
