By Joseph Staszewski
Lauren Tucker was the talk of Tottenville.
The St. Francis Prep girls’ lacrosse goalie left a lasting impression on the Pirates during their scrimmage at the Mayor’s Cup on Randalls Island Saturday afternoon. She was the subject of conversation as the two teams shook hands and as last season’s PSAL runner-up walked to another field.
“We were really impressed,” Pirates star Dana Coscia said. “We were all talking about it in the corner, ‘I can’t believe how good she was.’ Even our goalie [Danielle Langan] was like, ‘She was amazing.’”
The Terriers lost the contest 9-1, but Tucker, a three-year varsity contributor, made Tottenville work for every goal. She cut off angles, made great reaction saves with her stick and was nearly impossible to beat high. Coscia noted Tucker caught on to where she and her teammates were looking to shoot.
She was aggressive coming away from the cage, something she has not always done. SFP coach Nikki Pasinkoff said when Tucker came in as a freshman, she was already a great athlete, but just needed to be taught the skills.
“She is more confident,” senior attack Sarah Quinn said. “I feel that shows in her game.”
Tucker, who played hockey growing up, never gave any thought to playing goalie. She played center on the ice. But at 6 feet and with plenty of length, it seemed perfect for her at the time for a program that is now just five years old. Senior attack Erin O’Neill joked that they told her, “You are tall. Get in there.”
“I was just going to play,” Tucker said. “I had never played before. I was going to try out for regular, but then they needed a goalie. I made it, I guess.”
One of Tucker’s signature skills is her ability to throw long clearing passes to Quinn and O’Neill in midfield to start transition. It is something Tucker said she picked up quickly and the Terriers like to use that skill because of the quickness of that duo and midfielder Alex Bulavinetz.
“She can throw past the midfield,” O’Neill said. “She would rather wing it down for the offense to go for the fast break.”
St. Francis Prep is one of two Queens Catholic schools that field a girls lacrosse team, along with The Mary Louis Academy. It is forced to play its regular-season games against Long Island powers St. Anthony’s and Sacred Heart, a difficult task because Long Island players learn lacrosse at a young age, while the Terriers pick it up in high school.
“On Long Island, you can’t touch them,” Pasinkoff said. “They are too good.”
Playing at the Mayor’s Cup was a great experience for her team, she said, which graduated 15 seniors and was without a bulk of its starters Saturday. It gave them a chance to play against fellow city teams Curtis, Tottenville and Fieldston. The Terriers also got a chance to give its younger girls a chance to play and be competitive, something that would be tough in league play.
“It’s great to get them into the game because there is so many of us that are graduating,” Quinn said. “They are going to be the team next year.”
So will Tucker, who made the biggest impression. It’s attention she humbly accepts, but doesn’t quite believe.
“I don’t think I play so well,” she said. “But other people do, I guess.”
