The Boston College women’s lacrosse team is ranked number one in the country and what’s even more surprising is their captain came to the school planning to play a different sport.
Shea Baker, who’s from Ithaca, New York, initially arrived at BC with dreams of playing hockey. But she found her true passion in lacrosse.
Planned to play hockey
“I played hockey my whole life and I actually kind of fell in love with BC when I was here for a hockey tournament,” said Baker. “But then as I grew older, lacrosse kind of started taking over and I realized that lacrosse was probably my calling and it worked out.”
Undefeated lacrosse team
The Eagles are currently undefeated in their season with a 12-0 record. Ranked number one nationally, they’re on a quest to repeat as national champions after their victory last year.
When asked how an undefeated team stays perfect, Baker said, “Every day at practice, finding some sort of new barrier, a new inch to overcome to kind of make our own hardship in this moment. Not underestimating any opponent and taking every match, it’s more about us.”
As captain, Baker has proven her leadership skills as a junior. She’s also a two-time USA Lacrosse All-American and captained the Under 20 USA team to a gold medal at the World Championships in Hong Kong.
“It was very different experiencing this play on an international level and building those connections with other teams,” said Baker. “In the U.S., of course, lacrosse is a bigger sport than many other places in the world. And then, the national championship, you just want to cry because you know how grueling and how difficult it was to get there and for it to all pay off, you just want to hug your teammates.”
When asked what her mindset is on the field, Baker said, “I like to lean back on all of our preparation, our coaches have put us through the ringer over the past year because now is the time it’s going to be easier because of all that hard work. I think every time I step out on the field, I think about how prepared we are and how much trust we have in each other, how much we love each other and how much gratitude we have for the game.”
Baker’s teammates have lots of gratitude for her leadership and athleticism.
“She’s the most athletic player on the field, every single game,” said sophomore defender Lydia Colasante. “And she just gets better with every single…I’ve never seen an athlete like that.”
“She makes my job easier, honestly,” said junior goalie Shea Dolce. “She really is that second to last line of defense and she helps me see the shots I want to save and at the end of the day, I always say it’s the defense who’s making me make my saves and just having Shea in front of me makes me feel confident.”
Painting helps with game
Baker also has a creative side off the field. She enjoys paint by numbers projects, creative large paintings that can sometimes take up to a year to complete. She said the painting helps with her game as well.
“I think just sitting with yourself and blocking out distractions is one thing that kind of translates. Silencing the noise in your head and really just focusing on the task at hand,” said Baker.
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