After losing two of the top scorers in program history, the Hamilton West girls’ lacrosse team had to hope some younger players would step up this year. Players who, when they first arrived, probably wondered if they would even be given the chance.
“When we were freshmen, (coach Anthony) Tessein told us we stunk,” junior Julia Gagliardi said with a laugh. “He told us we stunk, but that we worked hard.”
Junior Lashay Ross remembered the conversation well.
“We asked him honestly how we were doing,” Ross said. “He said ‘Honestly, right now you guys stink, but you work hard.’ He saw potential in us; we had to just keep working hard.”
They did just that, and with two games remaining in the season, Ross had 44 goals this season while Gagliardi was third on the team with 14. In between was senior Danielle Schneck with 24 goals and eight assists.
The trio has stepped up to replace the graduated Erin Septer—the first 100-goal scorer in Hamilton Township history—and Loran Wyrough, who were a dynamic one-two scoring punch.
“I was worried about that,” Tessein said. “We knew that Lashay would be able to step in as the main goal scoring threat.
“We knew that Danielle had the potential, but because she never really had the chance to be a go-to person; she never had the chance to fulfill that potential. She’s done that this year. And Julia has really come out of nowhere with being another scoring threat.”
What has helped is, that besides those three, several other girls have chipped in with the scoring so it has been tough to just concentrate on Ross or Schneck.
“Every game we have five, six people on the score sheet,” Tessein said. “We’ve managed to pass the ball around better than we ever did with the previous teams. The girls try to get everybody involved. They really seem to like each other.”
The key there is, there are enough other girls to pass to, without fear of losing the ball. In the past, some of the players who did the scoring were some of the few who could be trusted with the ball.
“The girls have all learned, especially Lashay, at any moment she can feel confident to pass it to somebody else,” Tessein said. “You see teams that don’t have the confidence to pass it to each other and to make those extra passes.
“That took us a few years. I totally understand if every time you pass it to someone and they’re going to drop it, you won’t pass it. It’s something that just comes with time.”
It doesn’t hurt that the Hornets top three scorers also have the ability to put the ball in the net and work well with each other.
Like most township players, they learned the game while in high school, with two of them following in their sisters’ footsteps.
“My sister played, she was two years older than me, so she played and kind of got me into it,” Gagliardi said. “I was originally gonna play softball but she’s like, ‘Oh you should try lacrosse!’ I liked it so I stayed with it.”
It took some adjusting.
“My vision’s not too good so I can’t really see the ball,” Gagliardi said. “So that was really hard when I was a freshman, getting used to it.”
Unlike Gagliardi, Schneck never pondered another sport as big sister Meghan was one of the first Hornet stars when the program began five years ago.
“We practiced off the field, it definitely made me better,” Danielle said. “I wanted to do it because she did it. She told me she loved it so I figured might as well give it a try. I have to send her a big thanks for that.”
Ross had no idea what how to occupy her springs, but the program’s all-time scorer showed her the way.
“I played basketball with Erin Septer, and I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do,” she said. “I wanted to do track, I wanted to do softball. I wanted to do everything. But I got closer with Erin during basketball season she told me it was real fun.”
And was it immediate fun? Ross had to ponder that one.
“Uhhhh…not once I started,” she said. “But I grew to like it.”
Once Gagliardi and Ross arrived three years ago, Schneck was a sophomore. She described their talents back then with a little less edge than Tessein.
“I think everyone coming in as freshmen aren’t the greatest, but obviously you grow into it,” she said. “They’re amazing players.”
Ross scored her 50th career goal midway through the season and, barring anything unforeseen, is a cinch to become Hamilton Township’s all-time leading scorer next year.
“Lashay’s side to side speed and agility make her tough,” Tessein said. “She can cut on a dime. Sometimes she looks like she’s running a slalom out there between players. And she’s fast. You mix that in, plus she’s got a good first step.”
Schneck and Ross complement each other well around the goal.
“Danielle is very quick as well,” Tessein said. “Maybe not as agile as Lashay but when you put them next to each other, teams are really out of sorts trying to chase those two around.
“Then you throw in Julia, she’s got an excellent shot that she’s developed. This jump shot thing. And she’s just got a knack for where to be. One of those goal scorer things is just finding yourself in the right spots, and she’s done that.”
Schneck noted that Septer and Wyrough were role models for her and the others and, in her finest southern lingo, said that “we had to step up this year and show the other young ‘ns what we could do.”
“We thought it was going to be tough to replace them,” she said. “We had to work extra hard. We’re friends off the field, so when we’re on the field we have great chemistry. We know what each other’s passes will be and what we’re gonna do.”
They did it quite effectively this year.
And Tessein is saying much nicer things about them these days.
Lashay Ross, Danielle Schneck and Julia Gagliardi—pictured here during an April game against Ewing—are the top three scorers for the Hamilton West girls’ lacrosse team this year. (Photos by Suzette J. Lucas.),
