The Fort Lewis College women’s lacrosse team hasn’t made the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament since 2022. Ariannah Ritter plans to change that in her first season as head coach.
Ritter comes to FLC after two years as an assistant coach at Division II Missouri Western State in St. Joseph, Missouri. During her time there, the Griffons finished with a 19-15 record, including a 10-7 record in 2024.
The Skyhawks started practice on Jan. 13 after a 2024 season where FLC finished 3-11 overall and 2-8 in RMAC play.
“They've been great,” Ritter said about her team. “We've been pushing the intensity, learning and growing a lot. So one of our words this year is growth. It's a year of growth. We've seen a lot of it. We're really excited to see where the season takes us, as far as buying into that mentality of that growth mindset.”
FLC lost its top five points scorers last year, including Caprietta Abbadessa who led the team with 34 points in her senior season and finished her career with a First Team All-RMAC selection. Mikki Brown, the team’s second-leading scorer last season as a junior, transferred to Colorado Mesa this year.
Ritter said it will be a team effort to replace the offense FLC lost. She said the team has a good mix of drivers and passers.
One player Ritter thinks will shock some people is sophomore attack Piper Price. After scoring six goals and dishing out five assists last year, Ritter said Price is very sneaky and finds her way to the back of the net.
At midfield, junior Zoi Delgado and junior Sydney Tannaci should take on big roles. Last year, Tannaci was sixth on the team in goals, fourth in draw controls, second in caused turnovers and fifth in ground balls.
“She's an insane two-way middie,” Ritter said about Tannaci. “She's got a knack for defense; she's amazing at caused turnovers; she can read it. Then on the other side of the ball, offensively, she has a basketball background that really helps her. Her IQ is off the charts. So it's really fun to see her on both sides of the ball this fall and into the season. We've really dialed in on her draw game and I don't think they know what's coming for them when she steps up to that draw circle.”
Junior Samantha Rodgers is poised to lead the Skyhawks’ defense. She was All-RMAC Honorable Mention last season, had the second-most ground balls (47) and caused turnovers (33) in a season in program history. Ritter said they’ve moved Rodgers around a little in practice to allow her to grow her all-around game. There isn’t a practice that goes by where she’s not intercepting a few passes, according to Ritter.
The Skyhawks have three goalkeepers on their roster with freshman Abigail Leighty, sophomore Olivia Tilbury and senior Caley Lay. The starter is Lay but Ritter expects a tight battle for playing time throughout the season with each player bringing their own flare to the position.
Ritter wants her team to run a motion-based offense without any set plays. She wants to allow her team to be creative, initiate offense from all over the field and work together to find the back of the net. Ritter will play her bench with multiple lines to give all her players an opportunity.
Another change at the coaching position is with new assistant coach JoJo Lutz. She’s familiar to Skyhawks fans and foes after finishing her six-year playing career for FLC in 2024.
“She has a big defensive IQ, which is awesome,” Ritter said about Lutz. “She’s helping us dial in on that defensive end and really keep everything together. So she's been great.”
The Skyhawks were picked in last place in the six-team RMAC in the preseason poll and start the season on Sunday in San Rafael, California. Travel will be constant in the nonconference schedule with trips to play games in Missouri and Illinois.
Ritter wanted a challenging nonconference schedule to help her team grow before conference play. She knows the RMAC is a small, but mighty girls lacrosse conference.
“We want to be in the RMAC tournament and successful in the RMAC tournament,” Ritter said. “Keep pushing along and proving the people wrong along the way that we don't belong at the bottom of that poll.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
