ERIE, Pa. — With a new coaching staff comes a new culture, a new strategy and a new outlook.
 
The 2020 season will also bring a new look to the PSAC landscape for the Gannon women's lacrosse team, who will be under the direction of a coach who has spent the bulk of her collegiate time in the conference in Jennifer Pawlowski.
 
"We're looking to build on the last couple of seasons the team has had here and hopefully keep adding wins," said Pawlowski, who played at Edinboro, was an assistant at Shippensburg, then earned her first head coaching duties at her alma mater.
 
"We're excited. Our roster is a little bit small with just 19 players, but the girls are very motivated. We've had time through the fall and in preseason, and we're ready to build on those things heading into gameday."
 
Also new this season will be a divisional split and a double round robin schedule for lacrosse in the PSAC. That leaves more room for nonconference games — which Pawlowski has helped fill with a spring break trip to Florida — and will allow the new foes in the West get to know each other a little bit better.
 
Everything won't be new for Gannon in 2020, with nine returners who started at least nine games back on the roster for the Knights. That includes the team's two top scorers in Erin Rotondo (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) and Rachel Tufts (Erie, Pa./McDowell), as well as two-year starter in goal Erin Renwick (Islip, N.Y./Islip).
 
Pawlowski, who played a home-and-home series in conference games last year at Wheeling Jesuit, is also looking forward to the chess match of in-season adjustments teams will make heading into their second matchups
 
"A big thing we've done is implementing more offenses and defenses," she said. "We're trying to put some things in, think forward through the season and make sure we have options for what we want to do."
 
Gannon, which opens the season Saturday at Notre Dame (Ohio) and plays its first five on the road before its first match at McConnell Family Stadium on March 11 against Lock Haven, is hoping to use that to its advantage while carrying a bit of a chip on its shoulder in conference play.
 
This year going East and West, we're hoping that in the PSAC West we'll be competitive in every game," Pawlowski said. "We were voted sixth in the preseason poll, and we're looking to not finish sixth, but finish a lot higher."
 
ROSTER BREAKDOWN (2019 Statistics in Parentheses)

Goalie
Returners: Erin Renwick (Islip, N.Y./Islip), Jr. (16 starts, 188 saves)

Newcomers: Cheyenne Jess (Stratford, N.J./Sterling), So. (transfer from Ohio Valley)

Coach Speak: "We are very excited for what our goalies will bring to the team this year. We return our two-year starting goaltender and junior captain Erin Renwick (Islip, N.Y./Islip), and have added more solidity in cage with our transfer sophomore Cheyenne Jess (Stratford, N.J./Sterling). Both goalies have further begun to flourish under the coaching of our assistant coach Casey Hickman, a former Division II goalie herself."
 
Defense
Returners: Hayley Latvala (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island), Jr. (14 games, 14 gb, 8 caused to), Jamie Briggs (Spencerport, N.Y/Spencerport), So. (13 games, 11 gb), Julia Strtak (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central), Sr. (16 games, 21 gb, 16 caused to), Emma Ivory (Cranberry Township, Pa./North Catholic), So. (15 games, 14 gb, 7 caused to), Eileen Kehrig (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport), So. (16 games, 2a, 36 gb, 25 dc)

Newcomers: Lindsay Ball (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence), Fr.

Coach Speak: "Our defense unit this year is just that, a unit. They have worked hard throughout the fall and preseason to adopt a new style of defense and are hungry to cause turnovers this season."
 
Midfield
Returners: Jess Hudak (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-LaSalle), Sr. (16 games, 6g, 2a), Rachel Tufts (Erie, Pa./McDowell), So. (16 games, 33g, 8a, 20 gb, 17 caused to, 23 dc), Erin Rotondo (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan), Sr. (16 games, 51g, 5a, 28 gb, 39 dc)

Newcomers: Alli Jacobs (Eden, N.Y./Eden), Fr., Brooke Hepditch (Waterloo, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic), So. (transfer from Lawrence Tech), Amberlynn Kegler (Spencerport, N.Y./Spencerport), Sr. (appeared in 17 games in 2016 and 2017)

Coach Speak: "Our midfield squad is small but mighty this year. We return the program's top two goal scorers in senior captain Erin Rotondo (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) and sophomore Rachel Tufts (Erie, Pa./McDowell), so we are excited to see our midfield help lead the way on the field this year."
 
Attack
Returners: Courtney Young (Pittsburgh, Pa./South Fayette), So. (16 games, 5g, 1a), Erica Weir (Rochester, N.Y./Fairport), Jr. (5 games), Maddie Krock (Granville, Ohio/Granville), Jr. (9 games, 3g, 1a), Christina Zeher (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park), So. (9 games, 1a, 5 gb)

Newcomers: Brianna Murosky (Erie, Pa./McDowell), Sr. (appeared in 13 games in 2017 and 2018)

Coach Speak: "Our attack is starting to flow together throughout preseason, and using more creativity to create goal scoring opportunities. Having lost our top attack scorer (Kayla Shields (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall)) due to graduation from last year's squad, we are excited to see who will step up on that end of the field this year."