By Steven Rosen
Correspondent
For the College’s lacrosse team, impressive milestones often go unnoticed. Part of this is because of the talent that consistently comes through the program, always outshining or matching the remarkable numbers set by the players who came before them.
But the main reason that so many of these great achievements are brushed off to the side is by requests of the girls, who would rather not focus on individual stats or milestones. Instead, they worry about what the team as a whole is accomplishing.
During the first half of the Lions’ 17-3 win over Neumann University on Thursday, April 18, junior attacker Jen Garavente scored her 100th career goal, a very impressive number.
“Coming into the TCNJ lacrosse program my freshman year, my main goal was to be able to contribute to the team in some way,” Garavente said. “I never thought that I would have the opportunities to do what I’m doing in my career now and I am so thankful every day. Scoring 100 goals was something I accomplished in high school and I am really happy that I was able to do the same in college.”
The most impressive part of Garavente’s achievement does not have to do anything with numbers though — it’s a part of Garavente’s game that is displayed by all 31 of her teammates.
“Our team focuses more on the quality of our play rather than the stats,” Garavente said. “Stats are sometimes just numbers and don’t always define a team or the quality of a game in the best way. Playing our game with a high intensity and trying to get that win is what we focus on.”
In the regular season the Lions have done just that, as they picked up their 12th win against Neumann and capped off the season with a 19-5 victory over Cabrini College last week.
The team winning games is the biggest concern to Garavente, who is not worried about her own individual statistics, even as she is the middle of a season in which the junior is setting career high numbers across the board. Instead she has far more important things on her mind.
“Our team’s goal is to win a National Championship,” Garavente said. “It’s what makes us work hard every day. But we need to focus on one game at a time and not lose sight of how important each day is. We just need to play our hearts out and leave everything on the field each game, and we will come out successful.”
Garavente’s selfless attitude seems to be an overlying theme of the entire team. The Lions have generated 83 assists so far this season, and senior attacker Jillian Nealon leads the team with 30 of her own.
“Teamwork is the key to success,” Garavente said. “You have to think what is best for the team at all times, and strive to do whatever that may be.”
While the old saying may seem cliché, for the Lions, there really is no “I” in “TEAM.”
