Pace’s women’s lacrosse team has adopted the motto of being “uncommon,” as its 20 freshmen players prepare for their first season this spring.

One moment during practice facilitated this idea, according to head coach Michael Spinner.

“At first, when we had our practices, we saw that the way the team was playing, they were good at the high school level but not at the college level,” Spinner said. “They were doing a lot of the things that common freshmen do, and, at that point, I just said ‘you need to be uncommon,’ and that’s where it kind of all started.”

Thus far, the team has succeeded in leading up to this uncommon notion, something that the players have fully embraced. Middle position player Catherine Kennedy sees “uncommon” as a source of motivation because it provides the team with a chance to really prove others wrong.

“I was a walk on and am really new to the team. Being that ‘uncommon’ freshmen team pushes us harder because schools we play against are going to think we’re so new and we aren’t going to win games and we have no idea what we’re doing,” said Kennedy, who is majoring in nursing. “We’re going to prove to them that despite being a new program, and for me, being a new player, we can still win and kick their butts.”

This team brings a lot of fire with them, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by the coaching staff. The passion and enthusiasm that these girls bring is something that Spinner couldn’t be more thankful for.

Spinner notes that he is quite fortunate to have 20 players who have all had experience playing high school lacrosse. This particular situation was not something he expected, but Spinner and his team understand that the task is to get better every day.

“We got some really strong players who have been doing some tremendous things,” Spinner said. “Some need a bit more work, but everyone is working hard; they are all extremely committed.”

According to Spinner, many players are science majors, and their afternoon schedules often overlap with practices. However, the girls still come to the last twenty minutes of practice after their classes, without Spinner ever even asking them too.

“If you go the extra mile when it doesn’t really count, then that’s a very good sign for when it does,” said Spinner.

Spinner has pointed out, all the players have completely bought into the program, essentially becoming their own leaders.

Players such as Najma James and Rachael Casasanta were players that Spinner was familiar with from his high school coaching days before joining Pace. Spinner said he was practically jumping up and down with joy when he found out they hadn’t decided on a college yet.

“James brings an element to the field that most other teams won’t have,” said Spinner. “There is just this passion and toughness there; she won’t be phased. Our goalie Leslie Sanchez was the goalie for my old high school’s arch rival, and I remember she was very aggressive and quick; and goalie is probably the most important position on the field, so along with our other two goalies, we have three pretty good ones.”

Those are just some of the many names to look out for as this women’s lacrosse team continues to push forward in order to be the most uncommon team possible.

“We have the pieces, we just need time,” Spinner said. “But, I can assure you, we will be much more competitive than your common first year team.”