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Opening day of the 2026 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse season is Feb. 6.
Throughout the month of January, we'll pose three burning questions for each team ranked in the USA Lacrosse Division I Women's Preseason Top 20, presented by CWENCH Hydration, starting with No. 20 James Madison and finishing with No. 1 North Carolina.
Join the conversation on social media @USALMag (IG/X/FB). Wrong answers only.
Loyola has been a model of consistency. The Greyhounds are 93-0 against Patriot League opponents in the regular season since 2014. Their only losses have come against Navy in the conference championship — first in 2018 and then again last year, a 14-13 overtime loss in Baltimore.
“I don’t think you could be a competitive athlete and not be a little bitter about the ending of the Patriot League championship,” Loyola coach Jen Adams said. “There’s always going to be a chip on the shoulder. It’s a good thing. We don’t necessarily talk about it a lot, but it’s there. That fire will always burn from a loss … especially in overtime.”
The competition in a conference that sent three teams to the NCAA tournament in 2025 also fuels Adams. There are several holes to fill in the Greyhounds’ lineup. Loyola lost its starting goalie in Lauren Spence, top attacker in Georgia Latch and the do-it-all Chase Boyle. In fact, for four years, Boyle was the answer to almost everything on both ends of the field and the circle.
So what does that mean for 2026?
Given Boyle’s production on offense (77 goals), defense (25 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers) and in the circle (210 draw controls), it would’ve been fair to make this burning question Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
We won’t do that to Adams — it’s a hard enough question to answer once.
“Chase is impossible to replace,” she said, later adding, “That’s been our message as coaches — we’re not trying to replace Chase Boyle.”
Still, it’s not the first time Adams has had to answer this type of question. She’s previously had to recalibrate after the graduations of Taylor VanThof, Taryn VanThof and Livy Rosenzweig.
“It’s not something we haven’t done before, but I would say the gap is probably larger than we see it — losing a player with the caliber of Chase and her ability to do things all over the field,” Adams said.
In other words, it’s going to take a village to fill the full-field void left by a Loyola legend.
Mim Suares-Jury (26G, 11A, 17DC, 25GB, 16CT) will surely be a part of that village. Suares-Jury had a standout freshman season, but Adams doesn’t want to rely solely on her for production, especially not in the circle. Adams expects Delaney Jackson, a junior who missed her first two seasons with injuries, to return and contribute in the circle now that she’s healthy.
And freshman Mae Murphy is one player who showed two-way promise in the fall after catching the staff’s eyes in the circle. The Greyhounds don’t typically employ a “FOGO” strategy with a draw specialist. When assessing whether Murphy would lean best toward the offense or defense, the staff noticed she could do both.
“We’re seeing so much progress down both ends,” Adams said. “It takes time, but we’ve recognized Mae can be a true two-way. She’s got an incredibly explosive player. She’s a beast in the most positive and affectionate way I can say it.”
The description sounds vaguely familiar.
Boyle’s 85 points were second to Latch’s 127 points. Latch was as skilled at facilitating (71 assists) as she was at scoring (55 goals) — if not better at it. Once again, succeeding in a post-Latch era will involve a an all-hands-on-deck approach.
“It’s a bit of a theme for us this year,” Adams said.
But Adams sees players emerging and taking advantage of what’s essentially an open tryout. Sophomore Morgan Quade (5G, 2A) is one, having played at the crease in a quarterback role in the fall. Olivia Blanding (2G, 5A), who saw action in 17 games last season, has long impressed the staff with her ability to dodge and athleticism. Returners Emma Talago (18G, 21A) and Ava Kane (25G, 6A) also add experience.
Chase is impossible to replace. That’s been our message as coaches — we’re not trying to replace Chase Boyle.
Loyola coach Jen Adams
Spence (10.25GAA, .467 SV%) is now a coach at Denver, adding to Loyola’s list of cleats to fill. The Greyhounds have a goalie battle waging between senior Mackenzie Butler and junior Kennedy Buntrock.
Butler is an active, athletic righty. “She tracks the ball well and has an ability to make the big saves,” Adams said.
Butler’s focus over the winter break is to get stronger so she can become more explosive in the cage.
Buntrock is the yin to Butler’s yang. For starters, she’s a lefty.
“It’s nice to have that parallel and for our shooters to shoot on both,” Adams said. “Kennedy makes explosive saves. She can get down low to balls. We saw her come out high in her crease and make exciting saves.”
Buntrock’s clearing abilities improved in the fall. The staff noted she started hitting Suares-Jury more on fast breaks. It allowed Loyola to run its fast, athletic midfield-focused offense that’s been a hallmark — and could stay that way, even with all the new components.
Beth Ann Mayer is a Long Island-based writer. She joined USA Lacrosse in 2022 after freelancing for Inside Lacrosse for five years. She first began covering the game as a student at Syracuse. When she's not writing, you can find her wrangling her husband, two children and surplus of pets.
