Ortega waiting a long time to return to field with Merrimack girls lacrosse

Erin Ortega was ready for a special junior year with the Merrimack High School girls lacrosse team.

The Tomahawks were coming off another playoff year and had a solid group of players returning, a strong mix of talented upperclassmen and newcomers.

But just four days before the regular season was about to begin, Ortega, who was set to start in the middle of Merrimack's defense, got some bad news.

"I found out I had (mononucleosis) and was out for two months," she said. "It was incredibly frustrating. To know I could have contributed and been a part of that development, that was more than frustrating."

Merrimack again made the Division I playoffs, but for the sixth year in a row, couldn't get out of the quarterfinals. Although Ortega returned in time to participate in the Tomahawks' regular-season finale and the playoff loss to Bishop Guertin, the 2018 season was a lost one.

"It was definitely interesting getting back into it and it being so high-intensity (but) it wasn’t my game that I wanted to play," she said. "It’s been really exciting seeing the new team and already developing as a team. I’m just excited to be back on the field, honestly."

Ortega is back, and is not only stepping into the role that Merrimack coach Sarah Rothhaus expected her to be in as a junior, but as a senior, has taken on even more.

"She is trustworthy and is a leader on and off the field," Rothhaus said. "The players know they can go talk to her about whatever it is and they know they won’t be judge.

"I know having her back there, we have a lot of young girls coming up, she is just going to help the newcomers with ease. Our defense is going to be strong because of her."

It might take some time, however, for the Tomahawks to get on the same page.

"When I was getting ready for this season, knowing that I was coming back, I was lifting, I was working out, but I was trying to build those relationships," Ortega said. "One of the most important things with defense is trust. Since I hadn’t been playing with those girls, they don’t necessarily have the trust with me and I don’t necessarily have the trust with them. That has been my main thing, is how we’re going to work as a team on defense."

Whether her younger teammates are familiar with the way Ortega plays, they at least know who she is, as she came to every game and practice that she could last year, despite not being able to participate.

"She was still there supporting the team, and that showed how much of a leader she is just with that, coming out for games and practices," Rothhaus said. "She wasn’t a negative person, she was still there helping out and she wanted to make Merrimack better even though she couldn’t play."

Ortega wasn't the only one stopping by for a Merrimack game despite her not being on the field. With the illness coming during the recruiting process, Ortega was still trying to decide on a college to attend and try to continue playing lacrosse.

"It was definitely nerve-wracking to hear I was going to be out, especially coming into the summer with little to no field experience," Ortega said. "For recruiting, especially for Division III, junior year is your time."

Although she wasn't able to play, the coaches from Wheaton College, in Norton, Mass., came out to a game to show support.

"She knew where she wanted to go," the coach said. "That’s huge for her. She is a strong player and colleges wanted her. She has size and she has skill and she has speed. She has everything you’d want in a defender."

Ortega eventually decided to go to Wheaton and hopes to get Merrimack a little bit deeper into the playoffs before heading off to college.

"It was scary, but Wheaton especially was really good about understanding," she said. "I think a successful year would definitely be a lot of wins and making it to playoffs. Hopefully, we can get to the second round this year."