Lindsey Clark

Women's Lacrosse Looking to Build in Year 2

By Mark Albanese, Director of Sports Communication

After a year of firsts, the Pacific Lutheran University women’s lacrosse team is settling into the new normal, returning a veteran crew for year two as the University’s newest varsity program.

Last season the Lutes had a storybook start to the season, vanquishing Eastern Oregon University 12-6 in the program’s historic first game on Feb. 16. Taylee Alldredge played a huge role in that game, scoring the program’s first ever goal five minutes into the game and collecting a still standing single game record six goals in the victory.

Unfortunately for the Lutes it was tough sledding the rest of the season as the Northwest Conference’s newest team, closing year one with a 1-14 overall record and an 0-8 record in conference play. Pacific Lutheran had a slew of close shaves, coming up short twice against crosstown rival University of Puget Sound and two more nailbiters against Pacific University.

I would say the biggest expectation for this year is to be competing in our games in a different way than we were last year. I think we’ve seen what the conference has to offer and what the competition looks like, and we’re now able to adjust and rise to the occasion.

Head Coach Melanie Rizzotti

2026 Team Roster

Entering her third season at PLU, Head Coach Melanie Rizzotti is excited to take the next step this spring with a veteran team that returns 51 of the 57 goals scored last season, nine players who played in at least 13 games, and a goalkeeper that played every minute of every game in 2025.

“I think just knowing the pace of what we’re going to see. The nice thing is they played a lot of minutes and now we have a little bit more depth, so they have the bandwidth to play less but do more in those minutes this year.”

A big piece for the Lutes is the return of goalkeeper Kassie Diller. The Grand Ledge, Michigan native logged all 900 minutes between the posts last spring, racking up 166 saves with a .392 save percentage. The junior was a two-time NWC Defender of the Week, earning the honor after the Lute win over Eastern Oregon and again later in the season after making 19 saves on 38 shots against Pacific.

Kassie is our anchor on defense. She holds us together. She’s our biggest communicator and encourager, and she really takes charge of our defense. She’s very active in cage so she’s not just saving goals but intercepting balls and is just such a leader for our team. We’re so lucky to have her on the field at all times.

Leading the defensive field players is Lia Zaboski. The senior from nearby Tumwater, Washington played in all 15 games last spring and was second on the team in caused turnovers (17) and third in ground balls (24).

“Lia’s definitely just a force to be reckoned with on defense. We talk about in practice if Lia’s guarding you, she’s in man (defense) but playing zone because if there’s a ball anywhere in the vicinity Lia’s intercepting it. Lia’s getting a clean backcheck picking the ball up. She’s a really strong defender in our critical scoring area and also in the midfield.”

Other returning defenders include senior Mara Clay, a Portland, Oregon native that played in 14 games and sophomore Daisy Suarez-Zarate from Spanaway, Washington who appeared in 13 games last spring.

Lia Zaboski: Game day vs L&C, making a play on the field

Headlining the midfield is Honorable Mention All-NWC selection Taylee Alldredge. The junior from Maple Valley, Washington led the team in both scoring (26 goals) and points (29) last year, while also topping the team in draw controls (51), ground balls (46), and caused turnovers (20).

“Taylee will continue to run the main point of our midfield game. I’m really excited about Paige joining us in the midfield. With her high school experience and just how she’s integrated into our team I think it’s going to be really fun to see her in the midfield this year.”

Alldredge is one of four returning players with at least five goals with Issabella Marchio finishing second in the team in scoring (eight goals) and third in points (eight) last spring. The Gig Harbor, Washington native is a senior this year and one of a handful of players that have made the transition from playing with the club team in 2024 to building the varsity program from the ground up.

A first-year, Paige Hackman comes to Luteville from Fair Oaks, California where she racked up nine letters across three sports for the Broncos.

Also returning is Katrina Moran. The Portland, Oregon native had seven goals and one assist during the Lutes’ maiden varsity season, collecting 12 caused turnovers while Colorado Springs, Colorado native Kathleen Swankowski tallied five goals and one assist over the course of the 12 games she played.

“Our attack is going to be really fun to watch this year. I would say Issabella is going to be our playmaker coming from low, and it’s really cool to see the creative looks she’s making. Kathleen has also been working on her shot a lot in the offseason and she’s going to have some wicked, well placed shots.”

The Lutes also bring back Samantha Velasco Patino and Gracie Cecka who both played in all 15 games last spring. Velasco Patino tallied one goal and three assists while Cecka had three goals and 36 ground balls.

Fiona Stromire also returns after the Renton, Washington native joined the team last February and served as a practice player last spring.

For Rizzotti, the team has made tremendous growth from last year to this year.

I think they’ve all come a long way. I think Katrina in being dynamic on both sides of the ball, she’s come a really long way in being versatile on both ends. But they’ve all improved so much.

Lia defensively is a lights out defender. She’s always been good but she’s really come a long way. Ella too. She’s a key component of this team.

In addition to the returners, Rizzotti is excited for what the first years bring to the team.

“They all bring something different to the table which I think is really cool.”

A midfielder, Emily Mejia comes to PLU from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and North Hills High School where she was a four-year letterwinner in the sport.

“Emily’s been playing lacrosse for a long time but also her style of lacrosse she’s been playing is very different. So she’s hard to scout in the sense that you’re not really sure what her next move is because she’s unpredictable.

She has really great handles and footwork and there’s some catches where you think she shouldn’t make that and she does.”

Allie Weishaar joins the Lutes from nearby Graham, Washington where she was a four-year letterwinner at Graham-Kapowsin High School.

“Ali is a sneaky defender where she’ll suddenly have the ball.”

Another local recruit, Peyton Terhar joins the Lutes from University Place, Washington and Curtis High School.

“Peyton being a lefty attacker is great because that opens up the other side of the field for us to set her up to be successful. So that changes our play and then Paige is just so smart off ball, she’s always putting herself in the next play and is super reliable and dependable.”

Mikayla Harter joins the squad from Buckley, Washington and White River High School.

“Mikayla’s just been a great defender and is fitting in really well for us.”

While it’s just the second season for the Lutes, the squad has already developed some great team culture and chemistry, something Rizzotti is incredibly proud of.

Our team culture is definitely something I’m most proud of, and credit goes to the girls to up-holding that standard. Because I can say ‘we’re going to be great teammates’ but they’re the ones who bring it to life. They really are the most supportive and encouraging group towards one another and then looking to extend that around campus and to our opponents. It’s a really positive environment and it’s a lot of fun to be a part of.

The Lutes will play 16 games this season— beginning 2026 with eight non-league games, including four against conference opponents— before undertaking the eight game NWC slate. For the Lutes, the goal is to execute and get a little bit better every game.

“Going into this weekend we’re really looking to just focus on how we execute our schemes and the things we’re working on against someone that’s not us. So that’s our main objective. And then going into our non-conference games against conference opponents we’re looking at that to prepare for conference. Our big goal this year is to win some conference games so it’s how can we use seeing some opponents twice to our advantage and learning from each game.”

The Lutes host Southwestern University (Texas) on Friday at 6 p.m. at East Field and begin NWC play on April 3 on the road against Linfield University.

2026 Season Schedule