Ohio State women’s lacrosse has had its ups and downs this year, but as its regular season begins to wind down, the team looks to continue its three-game win streak with hard work and dedication.
OSU coach Alexis Venechanos said the team knows when to be serious and crack down.
“We asked our athletes to be focused and in the moment in whatever they are doing,” Venechanos said.
Venechanos, however, also spoke of the team’s energy and sense of humor.
“You can’t keep your game face on 24/7, nor can you be silly for 24/7,” she said.
With only four games remaining in the 2013 season, the team went from a three-game losing streak into a three-game win streak. Venechanos said the Buckeyes have stayed positive throughout their 6-6 record this season, an attitude that helped motivate them to win.
“The beginning of the season, we were pretty much battle-tested,” Venechanos said. “We learned a lot from our wins and our losses and it got to a point in our last week where we talked about kind of putting it all together, putting the extra work in and the need for us to piece together everything and get some wins.”
And OSU has been putting in that extra work, especially since its season has slowed, Venechanos said.
“They have been very competitive at practices,” Venechanos said. “The last few weeks we have had a lot of games and we usually only had a day or two to prepare for another team, but now we have a week to prepare like your normal football schedule.”
Sophomore midfielder Kelsea Ayers said the team just focuses on doing their best, no matter what time constraints it faces.
“Our motto is to be the best you can be,” Ayers said. “We go out there and do our best 100 percent of the time.”
She added the team acts as a family, and that’s what keeps them motivated.
“If we are going somewhere, we are literally going in a group of 32 people,” Ayers said. “We are always with each other, just hanging out on the couch talking.”
The Buckeyes are scheduled to take on Penn State Sunday at 1:05 p.m. in University Park, Pa.
