The women’s lacrosse club is hoping the third time is a charm.

As the team enters its third year of play, they are looking to make the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse League playoffs for the first time in club history.

Club president Jessica Cole said she and the team are looking to expand.

“Our team’s grown a lot this year,” Cole, a senior midfielder from La Grange, said. “We have a lot of terrific players.”

Having completed their two fall games against Vanderbilt and Centre, the women’s lacrosse club, which has over 20 players, has high expectations for the upcoming spring season.

The team struggled in the first game, suffering a 13-1 loss to Vanderbilt on Oct. 14. Offensive attacker Jillian Stewart scored Western’s lone goal.

The team rebounded in their second and final game of the fall season with a 18-8 victory over Centre College last Sunday. Cole and Stewart both scored five goals in the win.

Louisville senior Lauren Beaty is an attacker and also the secretary of the club.

“The Vanderbilt game was a tough matchup,” Beaty said. “It was the first game with a lot of the girls and the first time we had to travel.”

While the team mainly plays schools from Indiana, they try to vary their schedule in the fall.

“During fall ball we try to play teams we wouldn’t play in the spring,” Cole said.

The club is a member of the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse League, the largest such league in the country with 39 schools from Iowa to New York.

Last season in the WCLL B League, the team notched a 3-7 record, scoring 41 goals. The victories came against Centre, Taylor, and Ball State.

Freshmen attacker Ashley Wittenborn said that team chemistry is a big part of the women’s lacrosse team.

“We have a great group of girls,” Wittenborn said. “We get along real well.”

Beaty said that the club struggled its the first year.

“We practiced in front of Preston because we couldn’t get time of the intramural fields,” Beaty said. “We also had trouble getting enough players for the games.”

Cole said that besides some funds they get from the Sports Club program, they raise additional money working concessions at basketball games, and selling things like coupon books.

Cole said the team will spend most of the offseason conditioning and practicing for the spring season, with the schedule yet to be determined.

Reach Chris Acree at sports@chherald.com.