Brian CoaryShe started playing lacrosse while a freshman at St. Hubert’s High School in Northeast Philadelphia and has not looked back since. Mary Proietta, a senior and early childhood education major, is one of the captains for Cabrini College’s women’s lacrosse team.
Proietta said, “I started playing lacrosse because I wanted to try a new sport. After learning the game, I knew that it was the sport for me. Lacrosse is a sport that I have loved since the first day. I love that the game is so fast paced and very competitive.”
Proietta continued by saying that the team is looking to win its ninth consecutive Pennsylvania Athletic Conference championship as well as receive the automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament. “Also, we have a lot of non-conference games that we are hopeful to win. These teams will give us a challenge, but the harder the competition, the better we will be,” Proietta said.
Playing lacrosse at Cabrini has been a wonderful experience for her. “We are not a team that thrives on only one person’s talent but rather the group’s talent. We win as a team and lose as a team. Again, I love the competition and speed of the game, and I will truly miss playing next year.”
Proietta added that Cabrini women’s lacrosse has established quite a name for itself in the past years. “We have won our conference, the PAC, for the past eight consecutive years. This season, our record so far is 4-3 overall.”
“The best experience that Cabrini women’s lacrosse gave me was getting the chance to play overseas. I had the chance to play in the International Friendship Games in Tokyo, Japan last May with Julie Smith and Missy Modesti, last year’s seniors, and Jackie Neary, as the assistant coach. “This trip was a magnificent experience that I will take with me for the rest of my life. I learned a lot about lacrosse from playing with different players from Divisions I, II and III and also got the chance to learn about another culture,” Proietta said.
How does Proietta manage school work with sports? “Playing two sports in college, field hockey and lacrosse, has helped me to learn to manage my time. I learned that sometimes I had to sacrifice some of my free time in order to get everything done. But, looking back on my four years, I feel that the choices I’ve made helped me to be a successful college student-athlete,” Proietta said.
Proietta says leadership is a very important skill on and off the field. “I feel that I lead by my play. I do not give up, and I think that this helps the team to work hard when we are tired. Also, off the field, I am a very easy person to get along with. If any of the girls have a problem, I am very approachable and willing to help in any way possible,” she said.
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