By Chris Goldberg
TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 7/1/21
Breese Burlingame says she loves playing lacrosse. And that she loves playing ice hockey. So why choose between the two?
She doesn’t have to.
Burlingame is a 2022 lacrosse goalie and ice hockey goalie at Northfield Mount Hermon (MA) who plays club lacrosse for the NEPA Rattlers (PA). At 6-1, the Binghamton, N.Y. native has the size and range to cover both nets – on the lacrosse field and in the hockey goal.
On Friday, Burlingame was named Defensive MVP at the Victory Events Philly Summer Elite Kickoff Showcase Friday at Kirkwood Sports Complex (New Castle, DE).
Burlingame showed off her talents – attributes she believes help her in both sports. More importantly, she has the passion for competing in both sports.
“I think my height, flexibility, fast reaction time and speed are my top attributes physically,” she said. “but I would also say my (top strengths) are my love for the game, being a good teammate and leader and also keeping my teammates positive and being confident in both myself and them.”
After winning the MVP honor Friday, Burlingame helped NEPA Rattlers go 3-1 in the Beach Blast Saturday and Sunday at Cape Henlopen HS (DE).
“We took third place,” she said. “We lost our first game to the eventual winners, but we won our next games, keeping teams to a score of 16-0, 8-4, and 15-2. I played exceptionally well and kept my team in games that were tight! I had 9 goals in 3 games given up and had well above a 65% save percentage in the tourney.”
Burlingame has a perfect role model for success in both lacrosse and hockey – Kenzie Kent (Boston College), now training with the USA National Lacrosse Team.
Clearly, it will be challenging to play hockey and lacrosse in college because the seasons can overlap in the spring. Plus, playing goalie in hockey can wear down an athlete, but Burlingame is determined to play both.
“I hope to play two sports in college as well as going down the PreMed patch to become a Physician’s Assistant,” said Burlingame. “It won’t be easy but I have played at the prep school level where I played volleyball, hockey and lacrosse while managing academics so I feel that puts me at an advantage going into college.“
The 2020-21 school year in sports was not easy for Burlingame, but she savored the few games her teams played.
“We got to play one game for hockey and ended up losing, 3-1, but I made 30+ saves in the game in the time that I played and let in one goal,” she said. “In lacrosse, luckily we got to play three games where we went 2-1.”
How has her playing experience in lacrosse and ice hockey helped her become a better goalie?
“Hockey and lacrosse have always gone hand and hand with each other in my athletic career,” said Burlingame. “Hand eye coordination, fast reaction time, speed and agility, flexibility and strength have all gone into how I play both on the field and the ice.
“I use what I have learned in hockey and use it in lacrosse and vice versa. It’s truly special skills to have because It has taught me so much in both sports by incorporating all my skills into what I do.“