Culver-Stockton Women’s Lacrosse Preps for Another Season
Head Coach Caitlin Erickson enters her sixth season at the helm of the Women’s Lacrosse program, with Assistant Coach Madison Reed returning alongside her. Together, they will work on improvements and adjustments from last season.
Photo Courtesy of Women’s Lacrosse
In the 2024 campaign, the Wildcats finished with a 6-7 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the Heart of America Conference. They advanced to the Heart of America Playoffs but were defeated in the semifinals by St. Ambrose University, 15-4. “Last year, we were very confident heading into this year,” Coach Erickson stated. She went on to highlight the players’ accomplishments: “Our players received recognition for awards we had never been recognized for before.” Defenders Anaya Lopez and Katie De Craene, and midfielder Kaelin Quarles were named to the first team, while midfielder Lauren Grebing earned second-team honors. Additionally, Lopez was named Defensive Player of the Year, and Quarles was named Freshman of the Year by league coaches. Assistant Coach Madison Reed was also honored as the Assistant Coach of the Year.
Old Foes Join the Conference
This year, the conference will introduce three schools as “honorary members.” Despite these additions, Culver-Stockton is no stranger to these opponents.
Photo Credit: Women’s Lacrosse Team
Coach Erickson expressed excitement about the growth of the game and the opportunity to face familiar foes. “It’s great to see the game and conference grow,” she said. “Especially with teams we’ve matched up with in the past. I’m excited to have some closer conference games in general and to see how things shape up with two of the top ten teams in our conference.”
Looking Into the Future
The Heart of America has released its preseason rankings, placing Culver-Stockton fifth out of nine schools. The Wildcats have reached the Heart Conference playoffs every year since lacrosse was added to the league in the 2022-23 season, but they have yet to make it to the championship game.
This year, the Wildcats’ roster will feature sixteen players. Last season, they had seventeen, with five players graduating.
Coach Erickson described this year’s recruiting process as “tiring” but added, “We’re traveling all over the place, and almost every single place we have a player from, we’ve been to for recruiting.”
Photo Courtesy of Womens Lacrosse
Looking ahead to the season, Erickson is optimistic. “I think we’re going to do fairly well. We are recruiting from a lot of the same places and targeting some of the same top contenders.”
When asked about defining success beyond just wins and losses, she emphasized team experience. “Success for me would be my players saying this was the best season they’ve ever had—in terms of fun, culture, and achieving things this program hasn’t accomplished before.”
As the Wildcats prepare for their season opener on February 20 at Missouri Baptist, they aim to build on last year’s progress and push further in the conference standings.
The Lewis County Scoop will continue its coverage of the Culver-Stockton Women’s Lacrosse program throughout the 2025 campaign.
