It’s a very close game. She’s sprinting down the field, looking for an open look to take the lead. With a spin move, she gets inside the crease and her shot finds the net and she scores. Girls’ lacrosse attacker Ginger Fishberg is certainly capable of scoring points in big games, and always helps to put her teammates in positions to shine. During her junior year, the talented striker committed to Butler University to play lacrosse in order to further her academic and athletic career.
Although Fishberg has found a passion for lacrosse, she played soccer before she got into lacrosse. At age seven, she was introduced to lacrosse but Fishberg played travel soccer for the Bethesda Soccer Club until she was about 10 years old.
“We were visiting family over Memorial day weekend at my aunt and uncle’s house. One of my uncles, he is a high school lacrosse coach in New York, and he said to me and my sister ‘you guys have to try this sport.’ He gave both of us our first sticks, we practiced in our front yard, and we’d catch and throw,” Fishberg said.
Fishberg played Bethesda Lacrosse through elementary school and then she played Stars Lacrosse in middle school. The summer going into her freshman year, she started playing for her current team, Capital Lacrosse.
Fishberg was the only freshman on the varsity team during the 2021-2022 season. That same year, she got to play on the same team as her older sister, who was a senior at the time. With much hard-work and determination, she received all-Division and all-County honors during her sophomore season.
“My favorite thing about Ginger as a player is that although she’s on the smaller side, she is really unafraid. She’s not afraid to initiate contact, take fouls, step in there and go against bigger girls. I really like to see her do that,” head coach Christina Fitzpatrick said.
Both on the field and off, she has earned the respect and admiration of both her coaches and her teammates on the team.
“I think Ginger is a very dependable teammate, because we’ve both adapted to each other’s playing styles very well. I think that will help her in college lacrosse, because she’s very coachable and she can adapt to whatever environment she’s in,” senior captain and midfielder Natalya Krouse said.
Her play drew the attention of Butler University, as they became interested in Fishberg once they saw her play during her sophomore season.
“Over the summer [Butler] texted me and said ‘you should come to our camp.’ They saw me play over the summer and into the fall season, and they told my recruiting director that they liked my playstyle and they thought I’d be a good addition [to the program]. So they invited me on a visit in mid-January, and I just fell in love with the school,” Fishberg said.
With her dedication and devotion to lacrosse, her coaches and teammates are confident that she will continue to strive at the next level.
“She is not afraid to work hard, and I think that playing all year long and training all year long is going to help her flourish in college. And her willingness to try new things, meet new people and get better will help her translate better in college,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fishberg is thrilled to be able to continue playing the sport she loves and she is focused on embracing the challenge up ahead and enjoying her time at Butler.
“I’m so excited that I get to continue playing lacrosse, I absolutely love the sport. So being able to do it for another five years, including my senior year, is going to be awesome. Playing in the big east, it’s a super competitive conference. But I think that will be a good challenge and a lot of fun for me,” Fishberg said.
