Lake Forest College Sports Information
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

2003-04 Preview: Getting Better and Better
  

Theresa Taylor's defense will be relied on once again this season.
LAKE FOREST, IL - After setting a school record for victories and scoring, the Foresters lost just two players to graduation last May. Third-year head coach Susie Bellizzi saw her team receive votes in the national rankings last year and would like to climb into the top ten in 2003-04. "Last season we were much deeper and more talented than the year before," she explains. "Almost everyone is back and we've added even more talent, so there's no reason we shouldn't continue to improve this year."

Senior All-Northern Collegiate Hockey Association goaltender Theresa Taylor has led the league in saves each of its three years of existence. She will once again be counted on as the team's last line of defense. In front of her, sophomores Andrea Richmond and Catherine Norton lead a group of talented young defenders who are poised to reduce the number of shots Taylor and the other goalies have to face.

Offensively, Emily Blegen and Lil Caligiuri led the team in points as freshmen with 27 and 24, respectively. Caligiuri, who earned all-conference honors, tied the school record with 15 assists. Seven of the other eight players that recorded at least 10 points are back, including junior captain Lindsey Wild, a two-time all-conference forward and American Women's Hockey Coaches Association Scholar All America recipient.

After a fourth-place NCHA finish in 2001-02, the Foresters moved up a spot to third last year. Five of the team's eight league losses were by just one goal, so Bellizzi knows her team is not far from the top. "We had a number of close losses last year," she comments. "Playing in that atmosphere has helped us mature very quickly as a team and we'll win more close games in the future because of that experience."

Another way Bellizzi expects to improve her team is by taking on tougher opponents, which is why the squad will play at Middlebury College, Williams College, and Plattsburgh State University in early January. The three additions to the schedule will give Lake Forest 11 contests against five of the top eight teams in last season's final national poll. Taking on a higher level of competition will give the Foresters an opportunity to join those teams in the 2003-04 rankings.