ASHLAND EAGLES (FIRST YEAR)

2019 Ashland Preview

Ashland University’s women’s lacrosse program is in its first season. The Eagles are led by head coach Shaun Williamson. Williamson comes to Ashland with 15 years of head coaching experience under his belt. He has spent the last seven seasons as the women's lacrosse head coach at NCAA Division III school Berry College in Mt. Berry, Ga. where he launched the program. The opportunity at AU will be Williamson's fourth program-building project. He previously started the programs at NCAA Division II schools Lees-McRae (N.C.) and Belmont Abbey (N.C.) before becoming the first women's lacrosse coach at Berry.

Ashland touts the 2017-18 National Junior College Athletic Association Female Student-Athlete of the Year, Sofia Michael. Michael, a junior, has already established herself as a standout to look for when the women's lacrosse season begins. During her two seasons in junior college, Michael led her team to back-to-back NJCAA National Tournament semifinal appearances. She also earned All-American, All-Region, and all-conference first-team honors in both years in junior college. Michael tallied 51 goals and 29 assists in her freshman campaign at Anne Arundel. She also put 96 percent of her shots on target in that season. In her sophomore season, Michael increased her goal count to 56 on the year and assisted on 25 goals. She completed her junior college career with 161 total points in two seasons. The Eagles also brought in one of Michael’s Anne Arundel teammates, junior Renee Ruppert.

The first game in Ashland's women's lacrosse history will take place at Ferguson Field on Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. against Notre Dame College.