The Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) lacrosse team entered this season ranked No. 10 nationally following two consecutive Elite Eight appearances. The Sagehens, whose 2024 season concluded after losing to eventual tournament champion Middlebury College, now sit atop the SCIAC and boast a 3-0 record with a point differential of plus 49.
For captain Hannah Gough PO ’25, the reason for their early success is simple.
“When you boil down those two words, ‘program’ and ‘culture,’ you realize these phrases fundamentally refer to the people,” Gough said. “At the end of the day, the teams that love what they do more, and love the people they do it with more, win.”
The Sagehens are led by a three-pronged senior scoring trio: Sydney Landauer PZ ’25, Fiona Lewis PO ’25 and Shoshi Henderson PO ’25. Last season, they were all named First-Team All-SCIAC and have each averaged at least three points during their first three games this season.
Landauer, in particular, has started strong, leading the league with 16 points. In a recent showdown against No. 24 University of Chicago, she added a goal and an assist in a 14-10 Sagehen victory.
Prior to the game, Landauer said that having the University of Chicago travel to California to play the Sagehens was a big deal.
“In previous years, everyone has kind of underestimated us a little bit,” Landauer said. “So I think it’s really nice to have teams wanting to play against us, not only in SCIAC, but out of SCIAC.”
This game was just the start of a high-profile, out-of-conference schedule for the Sagehens this year. Per the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association preseason poll, the game against the No. 24 Maroons is the first of four non-conference top-25 matchups this season.
In mid-March, the Sagehens will host No. 15 Trinity and No. 24 Williams and travel to face No. 19 Colorado College.
For Gough, elite competition is always welcome.
“Those games not only challenge us physically but also strategically and emotionally, which is critical in preparing for the NCAA postseason,” she said. “There is nothing like travel and motel bonding to truly bring a team together.”
The University of Chicago game — as well as the 22-2 and 25-0 victories against Redlands and Whittier, respectively — have given the Sagehens a dominant position going into the rest of their season.
After Gough scored the opening goal, the two teams went back and forth in a game that stayed within two goals for the first 55 minutes. There were eight non-zero ties and five lead changes, with the outcome of the game in doubt before a late, fourth-period Sagehen flurry.
After the Maroons took their largest lead of the game, up two, with a goal to end the third, the Sagehens scored six unanswered in the fourth, including two from Buechner — who totaled four on the day — and two from Lewis. Taylor Glanville PZ ’26 sank the game-winning goal, her third of the afternoon, with eight minutes and fifty-four seconds to go.
On the other side of the game, Caroline Welch PO ’25, Rhyan Gohzh PO ’27, Scarlett Lang PO ’27 and Izzy Sabatino PO ’26 applied pressure and executed clears. Goalies Cailey Brousseau PO ’27 and Ruby Lesch PZ ’26 contributed four and two saves, respectively. Through three games, Brousseau, the starter to this point, has saved just under 53 percent of the shots she has faced.
Starting attacker Callie Cross PZ ’28, the team’s fifth leading scorer, credits the team’s cohesion and success so far to the coaches’ emphasis on the fundamentals.
“Our coaches are really great and we focus a lot on the little things and the fundamentals versus super complicated, crazy stuff,” Cross said. “We work from the bottom up, which I think, in turn, makes us better at all the complicated things, and it makes us, as a whole, stronger.”
While coaches Sarah and Sylvia Queener declined to comment for the article, preferring to highlight their players’ voices, Landauer shared her appreciation for the way they lead the team year-round.
“I mean on the field, but [also] off the field, they really, really help us with life in general,” Landauer said. “That’s really nice to have: a safe environment to share anything with them, even out of season.”
If you see a women’s lacrosse player on game day, you may notice “DIFYT” written across their wrist. Gough explained what the mantra means to the team.
“Our motto [is] ‘DIFYT’— Do It For Your Team,” Gough said. “We try to make everything we do with, and for, our teammates. Whenever you struggle to find the energy or commit to being better at any part of being a lacrosse player, find strength in your teammates and do it for them.”
Their high-flying offense, stingy defense and endless energy make this team one to watch.
P-P lacrosse will continue their strong season on Saturday, March 1, when they travel to Cal Lutheran. Following that, the Sagehens will face the 2024 SCIAC runners-up Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas in the next rendition of the Sixth-Street Rivalry on Wednesday, March 5, at Merritt Field.
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