By Chris Goldberg
TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 11/9/13
WESTTOWN, Pa. – Ursuline Academy (DE) freshman midfielder Janet Brooke Schmeusser came to the Philly Girls Showcase with a positive attitude.
“I felt like it was going to be hard with older players, but I came out with determination to do my best and keep focus,” she said. “I didn’t want to worry about who was watching; I just kept pushing through the cold.”
Schmeusser’s grit paid off as she scored twice and flashed a solid all-around game and was named the Phillylacrosse.com MVP today in the Fab 40 All-Star Game, the capper to the recruiting event run by NXTsports at Westtown School.
Schmeusser helped the Black team coast to a 16-4 victory over the White All-Stars. Also for the Black squad, 2015 Rina Rosnow (Overlake School, WA) scored five goals and Phoenixville (PA) 2015 goalie Megan Nemeth saved seven of her eight shots. Both players were named Honorable Mention MVPs.
Also for the Black team, Bronxville (N.Y.) 2017 midfielder Ellie Walsh scored three goals and Darien (CT) 2017 attack Gabriella Noto added two.
The full roster of Fab 40 players is found here.
In the morning round robin games (players were split into eight teams), Conestoga (PA) 2016 midfielder Eliza Hacke and Bridgewater-Raritan (N.J.) 2017 midfielder Allison Mastroianni (one goal in Fab 40 Game) shared top scoring honors in the MVP voting. St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) 2016 midfielder Kara McDuffee was a close runner-up for MVP honors and Conestoga 2017 midfielder Scottie Rose Growney was the second runner-up.
Schmeusser loved the showcase: “It (the competition) was hard, but I liked the team, the people and the coaches and everyone here made it a great experience for me,” she said. “I would do it again next year.
“It was a great crowd of girls. Everyone was together; no one was there for themselves.”
Other Black team goal scorers in the Fab 40 Game were Rancocas Valley (N.J.) 2016 midfielder Peyton Sventy, 2016 (PA) midfielder Chloe Novak and Garnet Valley (PA) 2015 attack Madison Valerio. White team scorers included Hacke, Methacton (PA) 2016 midfielder Sara Hughes, Franklin Lakes (N.J.) 2016 attack Catherine DeKorte and Garnet Valley (PA) 2016 attack Emily Mathewson.
Nemeth was pleased with her performance.
“Today I just came in wanting to get looks from colleges, I really didn’t expect to get anything else,” she said. “I certainly didn’t expect to get this far.
“I came in with a good attitude; I wanted to do the best I could. I am very happy. There are lots of girls here that are very talented. I was happy just to be a part of a team full of them. It was a very exciting experience.”
DeKorte said the players were not selfish all day.
“This one (showcase) was a lot different,” she said. “Usually there are a lot of ballhogs, but I was lucky. This team was passing a lot and settling and looking for feeds in the middle so it was a lot of fun.”
DeKorte said the push for committing early is high, but she is not making a quick decision.
“It’s definitely stressful but everywhere I go – at colleges and the camps – they say. ‘Relax, there is a place for everyone. You’ll get recruited.’ We have to remember it will be OK.”
Growney agreed: “My cousin committed as a freshman, but you don’t want to be rushed,” she said. “You want to make sure it’s the school for you. You want to like the coaches the players and the school and you don’t want to be rushed.
“You want to make sure can keep up with it academically. You don’t want to go somewhere too hard or somewhere too easy. Mainly, it’s academics first and sports second.”
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