Historical Timeline | Season Stats
Clemson lacrosse made a lot of history in its inaugural season. Head Coach Allison Kwolek got to work right after she was hired on August 2, 2021, as she had a team to assemble. In that first year Coach Kwolek brought on board Assistant Coaches Madison Carter and Bill Olin in addition to signing 28 players from across the country.
The inaugural roster was made up of 20 transfers, including 11 graduates and nine undergraduates, and eight freshman. The Tigers roster was represented by eight different states and two countries: New York (10), Maryland (6), Florida (4), Pennsylvania (3), South Carolina (2), New Hampshire (1), Texas (1), and Ontario, Canada (1).
The players moved into Tigertown in August, when they held their first ever team meetings, practices and workouts. After a successful fall ball season, the Tigers were eager to begin their spring season.
The Tigers would finish their season with a 12-5 regular season record, going 9-1 at home, 8-0 in non-conference play and 4-5 in the ACC. Clemson held their own in the ACC, just narrowly losing to No. 14 Notre Dame, upsetting No. 13 Duke 11-10 and defeating Louisville, Virginia Tech and Pitt. For a majority of the regular season Clemson Lacrosse was ranked in the top 25 by both the IWLCA and Nike/USA Lacrosse national polls. In addition, the Tigers finished the season ranked in the top 20 nationally in 11 different statistical categories.
Entering the season Clemson was ranked last at the No. 10 spot in the ACC Conference. By the end, Clemson would prove that they belonged in arguably the best lacrosse conference in the country, as they finished ranked No. 6 which earned them a bye and automatically qualified them to the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship.
Several Tigers were recognized on the national stage for their impressive efforts this season. After upsetting Duke, Sophomore Goalie Emily Lamparter was named IWLCA’s National Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman Attacker Sofia Chepenik earned ACC Offensive Player of the Week. In the postseason, Chepenik and Paris Masaracchia were among the 12 freshmen voted on ACC’s All-Freshman team. Additionally, Nakeeya McCardell and Marina Miller earned a place on the South’s All-Region Second Team, while Ella Little made honorable mention for USA Lacrosse’s All-American team. Also, Mallory Martel, Gianna New and Marina Miller were selected to play in the 2023 Senior All-Star Game on June 3rd.
