Women’s lacrosse to make history on Saturday
Charlotte 49ers women’s lacrosse makes its debut Saturday, Feb. 8, taking on Gardner-Webb. This inaugural clash at Jerry Richardson Stadium was two and a half years in the making. Head coach Clare Short, one of the most accomplished lacrosse coaches in the region, starts the inaugural season with a talented freshman class and a top-10 ranked transfer portal class. She said there will be a rush of emotions during the season opener.
“My heart will be racing. I’ll be full of joy but also just a little bit sentimental, too,” Short said. “I honestly probably won’t believe it until that first draw goes.”
Short joined the 49ers from Queens University in Charlotte, which had an accomplished Division II program that was elevated to Division I in 2022. During her six years at the helm of the Royals, Short became the program’s winningest coach; the Royals captured eight straight South Atlantic Conference tournament titles, three South Region titles and made four appearances in the NCAA tournament. Coming to UNC Charlotte enables Short to continue growing the sport in the Carolinas.
“The University has done a great job in always being a presence in the city of Charlotte. To now have lacrosse at the largest university in the area has been great for us,” Short said. “The buzz around our arrival has been great, and I know it will continue after Saturday’s game and throughout the whole season.”
From the Ground Up
In their first year, Short and assistant coach Sarah Stagaard were tasked with building a program from the ground up, and recruiting players was imperative. They hit the road to meet prospective players, made phone calls and scheduled campus and official visits. Recruiting can be difficult for an established program, but Short had to sell top prospects on a vision. She took the challenge in stride.
“It was awesome for us because we knew what our vision was going to be, which was to be competitive, make history and have those women buy into all of that,” Short said.
Beyond filling a roster, the staff had to construct the program’s infrastructure. In the first year, they created and designed the locker room, uniforms and sticks. Also in year one, they brought six players — five now sophomores and a graduate student — to campus to start building chemistry, traditions, culture and leadership. Short admitted that being a part of something new isn’t the right choice for every student-athlete, but the inaugural UNC Charlotte lacrosse roster is made up of the right people.
“The 28 women that we have now are definitely the right fit, because it’s what they wanted,” Short said. “They chose to make history, they chose to make a name for themselves, not only year one, but every year after that. And I think they just really wanted to build this program up and have opportunities maybe that they wouldn’t have found other places.”
The First 28
Half of Charlotte’s inaugural roster of 28 women are freshmen. Five are redshirted as they started ahead of the 2023-24 school year. The beginning of these players’ collegiate careers will coincide with the start of lacrosse at Charlotte, which was appealing to players like Katie Gorski during the recruiting process.
“Getting the opportunity to start something like this and to be a freshman, come in and be a part of the legacy and build it over four years, I just couldn’t turn down that opportunity,” Gorski said.
The remaining roster is composed of transfer student-athletes from 13 colleges across the country including Penn State and Virginia Tech. Four of the transfers are graduate students who will use their final years of eligibility to help build this new program.
Claire Schotta entered the transfer portal after four years at Virginia Tech where she totaled 53 goals and 21 assists as a Hokie. Schotta said that Short and the personable Charlotte coaching staff won her over.
“I just can’t wait to do it for these coaches,” Schotta said. “They put so much time and effort into building this program.”
For the first 28, this women’s lacrosse season offers a chance to be a part of something truly historic.
“In 20 years when we have a reunion, these women will be the only 28 players in the country who can say ‘I was part of that team,’” Short said.
For the First Time Ever
Playing in Richardson Stadium, women’s Lacrosse will have all the perks of the football stadium. For Saturday’s game, the team will have a smoke machine, walk-out music, custom videos on the video board and individual theme songs for the goal scorers.
“Saturday is going to be like coronation day,” Schotta said. “We get to have our first locker room dance party, our first Niner walk and our first starting lineup roll call. We get to see the video that they created of us. I think that’s fueling us, all those little first moments that we can’t wait for.”
Short, her staff and the team are excited to showcase this new sport to the campus community and hope Niner Nation will attend Saturday to show their support. The opening draw is set for 12:30 p.m. and admission is free to the Charlotte community.
“These women chose Charlotte. I want Niner Nation to choose them,” Short said.