In last year’s 2025 season, UW-Eau Claire women’s lacrosse fell one game short of making the NCAA Tournament. Nine months later, the program began its 2026 season.
On Friday, Feb. 6, the Blugolds faced Calvin University in both teams’ season opener. Both sides had a majority of their top scorers return for the new season. The Blugolds returned their top four goal scorers in 2025, while Calvin returned their top three.
Blugold Head Coach Courtney Puhl made her collegiate head coaching debut. Puhl served as an assistant coach in 2024 and 2025 and finished last year as the program’s interim head coach.
Heading into the season, the Blugolds have eight first-year students on the team and just three fourth-year students. Puhl said the team graduated some “heavy hitters” and that the players are adjusting to the new style of the team.
One of the returning athletes is fourth-year midfielder Reegan Werner. Werner led the team in goals, assists and points in 2025. Werner’s 28 assists were the fourth highest in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
Werner said the fourth-year athletes are sharing their wisdom down to the new players.
“Teaching them the game and teaching them at the college level and getting the team chemistry up is really what we’ve been working on hard,” Werner said.
To start the scoring off on Friday, Calvin’s Megan Gibbs found the back of the net for an unassisted goal three minutes into the match. The Blugolds responded with back-to-back goals, as first-year midfielder Addison Moudry scored her first collegiate goal.
Alongside Moudry, first-year midfielder Grace Schmidt scored two goals during her collegiate debut.
Puhl said she was super proud of the first-year athletes when they were out on the field.
“In the opportunities where some mistakes were made, they capitalized on them and they fixed it,” Puhl said.
After a pair of Calvin goals, the Blugolds trailed 3-2 at the end of the first period. Calvin’s Jacey Smith started the second period with a goal to extend Calvin’s lead to two.
From 13:09 to 10:32 left in the period, the Blugolds tied the game with back-to-back goals. A response from Calvin’s Audrey Booher in the final two minutes gave Calvin a 6-5 lead heading into halftime.
In the first half, the Blugolds led in the groundball margin 24-12 but surrendered two free-position goals.
In the third period, the Blugolds were held scoreless, as Calvin scored six goals to extend their lead 12-5 at the end of the period. Werner was assessed two of the Blugolds’ three yellow cards.
Werner said she doesn’t think she’s ever played in a game with that many yellow cards given to one team with none given to the other team. The Blugolds were given five yellow cards in the game.
Calvin scored three man-up goals in the period while holding the Blugolds to one draw control.
In the final period, Blugolds’ third-year midfielder Victoria Shea scored a goal within the first 30 seconds. Shea finished the game with two goals and five ground balls. Shea’s goal represented the Blugolds’ last goal of the game, as Calvin held the Blugolds scoreless the rest of the way.
Four man-up goals and a free-position goal in the final period helped Calvin earn a 17-6 win. Calvin had five scorers with a minimum of two goals and three scorers with three goals. Despite the same amount of shots on goal at 17, Calvin’s goalie Hannah Rizzo made 13 saves.
Since Puhl was the interim head coach for the end of last year’s season, she did not have a part in the 2026 recruiting class. Because of this, the Blugolds’ roster sits at 20 players, while Calvin’s is at 30.
“Obviously we want numbers to be at 30 so that we can condition and have the stamina to have so many rotation players,” Puhl said. “We have a shorter roster, and that’s the hand we’re dealt, so we (have) to deal with it.”
The Blugolds were also shorthanded due to injuries as Devon Crews, who was fourth on the team in goals with 33, did not play.
The Blugolds’ next game is Sunday, Feb. 15 against Sewanee at home at The Sonnentag Center.
Benes can be reached at [email protected].
