Losing talented senior defender Anna Zucconi at the end of last season left WJ girls’ lacrosse with a massive gap to fill for this season. The CatLaxKillas questioned who was going to fill the hole of their All-County defender, not just on the field but off the field. Such a loss in communication, leadership and intensity posed immediate defensive questions.
However, just as Zucconi left, freshman Alina MacDermott came in, wasting no time in establishing herself as a cornerstone of the Cats’ defense. Even with some of her teammates being up to three years older than her, MacDermott has found her home with the CatLaxKillas.
“It’s great [to be a freshman on varsity], it’s so fun,” MacDermott said. “I was nervous at first but everyone on varsity is so nice and it’s a great experience. I love it so far.”
It’s very rare to find a freshman suiting up for varsity, let alone providing impactful minutes with poise as MacDermott has. MacDermott sprouted confidence from the get-go, leading the defense at such an early stage in her high school career.
“She directs a lot of our defenders, especially the ones that are new to the team or just new to defense, and she uses her voice to lead them during games and practices,” sophomore midfielder Julia Zucconi said.
Not only is MacDermott able to provide a leadership role to the near-undefeated team, but she is also able to take feedback from her teammates and coaches and adapt, a skill that distinguishes elite players and one that most players, let alone freshmen, take years to build up.
Even as the whole team pushes MacDermott to do her best, they also have welcomed MacDermott with open arms.
“They really made me feel like part of the team and they’re just super nice and age and grade have no barriers on our team,” MacDermott said. “Everyone throughout the grades are all really great friends.”
To get to this point, MacDermott has bounced from sport to sport to find a community that would lead her to success and triumph.
“I started off with gymnastics and it took up a lot of my time and I wanted to try a lot of other sports. So when I quit, I was just trying a bunch of sports and I ended up liking lacrosse and I stuck with it,” MacDermott said.
Sept. 1 of MacDermott’s junior year is a long way away, but that hasn’t stopped her from envisioning what her recruitment process will look like. To many athletes, the recruiting process is nothing short of hectic. Being in contact with dozens of college coaches ultimately becomes hard to manage.
“I’m hoping to play lacrosse in college,” MacDermott said. “No one in my family has tried to go through the recruiting process but I do have friends that have, so hopefully I can rely on them to help me.”
MacDermott finds her hands full the entire year, juggling volleyball in the fall, basketball in the winter and lacrosse year-round. The athleticism required to compete at a high level athletic program is impressive, meaning that playing multiple sports can help expose athletes to a wider range of movements, promoting versatile skills movement and preventing overuse injuries.
“I hope to keep doing sports every season,” MacDermott said. “I like playing sports in general and just having something to do after school just makes me feel good. I love being active, but lacrosse is definitely my main sport.”
