The California Lutheran University Regals Lacrosse team honored junior midfielder and defender Emily Schumacher during their Senior Night game against the University of Redlands Bulldogs on Wednesday, April 26. The Regals fell 7-19 in their last home game of the season. 

Schumacher said she is graduating in the fall, making this her last season with the Regals. This season was her first and only with the Regals as she transferred from California State University Channel Islands. 

“I think it is super bittersweet, it’s not super sad because I know they will always be my friends,” Schumacher said. “I am just going to miss everybody and being around them all of the time.”

Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach Laura McIntyre said that the team will miss Laura as a person more than anything.

“With Emily, it is so hard because we only had her for this year, but she made such a positive impact on the field with her speed and her aggressiveness and working so hard at practice,” McIntyre said.

First-year midfielder Sydney Shin said being able to honor a senior for the first time in her collegiate career was “super special.” She said the Regals suprised Schumacher by decorating the locker room before the game. 

“It was super fun and I can’t wait to see what Em does in the future,” Shin said.

Schumacher is the only player graduating after this season, a decrease from the team’s inaugural 2022 season, where they had six graduating players. 

“I am excited for the future,” McIntyre said. “Always sad to see people go but knowing that it is only one leaving this time and we’ve got a lot more coming it is exciting to continue to grow as a team.”

While the Bulldogs came out strong, earning 10 of their points in the first quarter alone, the Regals held them to two, four and three goals in the following three quarters respectively. 

“I am really pleased to see that we turned it around. We struggled our way through the first half, especially that first quarter. I am really proud of our resilience,” McIntyre said.

The Regals improved by scoring six goals in the last two quarters, following one goal in the first two quarters.

“During halftime, we talked about that this was the last half that we would have on the field together, and I think that really got us going and turned a switch on in our heads,” Shin said. 

Shin scored three goals during the game, taking her season goal count to 18. She said scoring those three goals helped get the momentum going for her team. 

“We kinda kicked it into gear and we were all just super pumped and realized what was at stake, and it’s our last game and it’s our big chance to go full send. We had nothing to lose,” Schumacher said. 

The Bulldogs won both games against the Regals during the season. However, the Regals were able to improve by one goal from their last meet up, as they previously scored six. 

“We did better than the last time and that’s what we care about the most, is improving from the first time we stepped on the field,” Schumacher said. “We played till the end and didn’t give up.”

Despite not having a win under their belt in two seasons, McIntyre said she is excited for the team’s future and that they have a lot of room to grow. 

“You either win or you learn at this point,” McIntyre said. “We use progress as our barometer for success.”

In their last game of the season, the Regals faced Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, April 29. They fell 2-24 to round off a winless season.