Coming off an 11-8 season in 2003 under second-year coach Carrie Bolduc, the Massachusetts women’s lacrosse squad enters 2004 looking to carry that momentum to greater heights.

Last season, the Minutewomen fell to then-No. 13 Cornell Big Red 14-8 in the ECAC Championship. Currently, CU sits at No. 15 in the preseason rankings.

The Maroon and White have been named by Lacrosse Magazine and the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Association poll as a team on the bubble to crack the top 20 this season.

“It’s great, because it’s been a while since Massachusetts women’s lacrosse has been recognized as a top 20 team,” Bolduc said, alluding to the Minutewomen’s glory days of the 1980s. “I think our hard work last year has really paid off … hopefully, this year’s effort will prove that we are a top 20 team.”

As far as living up to expectations is concerned, Bolduc is cool as ice.

“I don’t think there’s any pressure,” Bolduc said. “I think we need to focus on ourselves and recognize that people are out there looking at us as a top 20 team. I don’t think it changes anything. I think that we’ll carry on just as if we were top 10, top 20, top 50 … it’s all relative.”

Traditionally a defense-first team, the philosophy in recent years has shifted toward a more attack-focused approach. The Minutewomen’s style focuses less on set plays and more on improvisation from their talented attack unit.

“When we’re on, I think we’re one of the top 10 attacks in the country,” Bolduc said.

A young but deep unit will be heading an attack that specializes in one-on-one situations. It will be led by tri-captains Tracey Drown and Maura McGarrity, as well as Kerri Connerty, Lindsay Cassell, Hope Zellinger and newcomer Shelley Boyle.

Zellinger is UMass’s returning leading scorer, netting 30 goals on 62 shots and nine assists for 39 points last season, good enough for third on the team. The senior attack also gathered 32 groundballs, caused 11 turnovers, and had 30 draw controls. McGarrity was right behind her in the stats column with 28 goals on 71 shots and six assists for 34 points.

Having been sidelined for the season with an injury after four games last season, Drown looks to have a terrific season should she stay healthy.

With a lot of new faces in the defense, Bolduc expects a lot of underclassmen to turn things up a notch in 2004.

“We’ve got a good amount of experience, but we’re also looking to a few freshmen to step it up,” Bolduc said. “We’ve focused a lot on defense … it continues to improve every day. We graduated a big class, so we’re requiring our freshmen to step up faster than usual.”

The defense will be led by tri-captain Kristin St. Hilaire, as well as Judy Kestner and Andrea Valachovic. Drown will also see some work in the backfield.

Redshirt freshman Lauren McCarthy has been named starting goalkeeper for the upcoming season.

For the third consecutive year, Massachusetts will kick off the season against the College of the Holy Cross. Tomorrow’s game will pit UMass against a Crusader team that it has beaten 15-0 and 10-5 in the last two meetings.

Hope Zelinger may the UMass player to watch, due to her considerable success against Holy Cross in the previous season-openers. Zelinger netted three goals last year, and scored a career-high four goals in 2002.

Second-year coach Stephanie Pavlick hopes to improve upon last year’s 7-9 record, which earned the Crusaders a fifth-place ranking in the Patriot League.

A 2-4 conference record was not enough to earn Holy Cross an invite to the 2003 Conference tournament. With 12 returning letterwinners and 11 newcomers, Holy Cross must find a way to compete despite returning only three defenders.

“Stephanie [Pavlick] is a grad of UMass, she graduated in 2000 so I was able to coach her for a year (as an assistant),” Bolduc said. “Knowing her as a player helped me understand how she approaches the game from a coaching standpoint.”

Leading the team will be Second-team All-Conference selection Kati Britt. The senior captain led the team last year with 33 points, 28 of which came on goals. In each of her three seasons, Britt has either led or been second on the team in goals scored.

Britt will be joined by teammate Kerry Daly, a senior co-captain who spent last season abroad. In her sophomore season, Daly notched 12 goals and one assist.