Women’s lacrosse debuted against the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Rams this past weekend. Following a shortened season last year, the Blue Jays came out with a vengeance, crushing the Rams 15-6 after trailing 2-0 through the first quarter.
The unofficial player of the game and this week’s Athlete of the Week is graduate student midfielder Shelby Harrison, who scored four goals and moved up to second in program history in draw controls.
In an interview with The News-Letter, Harrison shared her thoughts on the game and the rest of the season.
The News-Letter: How did the team stay composed after falling into an early 2-0 deficit? What eventually clicked for the team to win so dominantly?
Shelby Harrison: Composure is definitely something that I have been challenged with in the past, but this year I feel like I really channeled the fact that I have been in that same position before where we were down and had to fight back. I know our team and had trust in our team about the fact that we would make the changes we needed to do, but I will continue to challenge myself and my team to try and make those adjustments sooner rather than later. Doing the simple things and not over thinking what we needed to do were the key. We did not need to make the home run play. We just needed to make the smart play.
N-L: You scored four goals in this game as well as moved up to be second in program history in draw controls; how special is it for you to find individual success for a storied program like Hopkins?
SH: It is super special and honestly attests to all the work I have put in over the years, but a huge factor that plays into all of it is my teammates. My team is a very talented and strong group of girls and if I did not have them pushing me every day, I would not be where I am. The greatest thing was that this was our first game and there is still a lot of room to grow all around.
In terms of the draw, I do have to give a lot of credit to my circle kids. They are the ones that take care of the circle players, allowing for me to make a play on the ball, so I would definitely say it is a group effort on that part. We were all just clicking and knew where each other was at all times.
N-L: While still early in the season, does the team have any specific goals it hopes to accomplish aside from conference and national titles?
SH: Continuing to challenge each other. I know we were definitely not 100% satisfied with our performance on Saturday, but the team has really bought in this year in terms of addressing what we need to fix and do better at it.
It’s a long season so I am beyond excited to see what this team is able to accomplish. Obviously the end goal is to compete for both a conference and national title, but the important thing is to focus on the now and focus on what we need to do to succeed game by game. Not only is this my last season, but it’s also coach Janine Tucker’s last season, which makes it even more special. I feel that our team is really playing for a purpose that is bigger than all of us and everyone is dedicated to growing and winning together.
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