By Tom Peace
TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 10/27/15
DALLAS, TX – When Megan Carney gets the lacrosse ball in her stick, special things happen. The 2018 attack from McKinney Lacrosse Club and John Paul II HS in Texas plays the game with drive and determination.
“She is a smooth, dynamic attacker that reads the field extremely well,” said coach Molly Ford. “She is a threat all over the field, making her one of the top recruits in the nation.”
This past weekend at C2C Spotlight during a game, Carney’s team won the draw and fellow teammate Charlotte North (committed to Duke) found a wide open Carney and from there the attacker dodged her way to the cage and easily planted the ball behind the goaltender for the goal. Carney made the play look easy.
Plays like those are the reason why top Division I programs are coming to Texas to scout Carney.
“Making some new dodges, looking for the right feeds and the right cutters to get other girls goals and I can get assists,” said Carney on what she is working on to improve her game.
“I know I still have to work hard. It is not over yet,” said the C2C Lacrosse club star. “I just have to keep working.”
Carney, isn’t just an attacker. She can hustle on midfield from time to time and has good conditioning. She has that IT factor. She forces you as a spectator to watch her play and see what she will come up with next.
“I’m looking for a school that has a good program that’s in the top of women’s division I lacrosse, and they have some good attackers that can be supportive and help build my skill level,” said Carney.
The college coaches It will be interesting where Carney decides to play college lacrosse. But one thing is for certain the team that gets her will be getting an unselfish player that enjoys playing the game. Carney is a leader and someone that thrives on building team chemistry.
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When you speak to Zoe Durham, she has this calmness and confidence about her that carries over to the lacrosse field. The Highland Park (TX) sophomore loves competing and playing the game and is looking forward to the fall recruiting events so she can show college coaches and people that Texas girls’ high school lacrosse is on the rise.
And it is, the competition during the girl C2C Spotlight this past weekend in Dallas Texas was top notch. The girls in the area understand that to be seen that they need to go play in events around the country. But they are confident in their skill set and have fun playing the game.
A big reason for the success of Texas girls’ lacrosse has to do with on person and that is Molly Ford, the head coach of Coppell HS and C2C Lacrosse. Ford is from the Baltimore area where she went to Notre Dame Prep and later starred at Georgetown University. The girls in Texas love her and will play their hearts out for her.
When Durham speaks about Ford, she has a big smile on her face. “It is really fun. We are really lucky to have coaches like Coach Ford and the other coaches on the staff. We have opportunities to go to the East Coast and it will be tough because it’s hard playing locally, so that’s a challenge having to travel and playing other teams,” said Durham. “Other than that you just have to work hard.”
Durham is a quick midfielder who has a good shot on cage and she is pretty athletic. She is strong on the draws as well. She is always fighting to win and then hustles up field to help create offense or go in for the score on the fast break.
“Zoe is a workhorse. She uses her speed and fearless attitude all over the field and has a special knack for setting up her teammates,” said Ford.
Some pro’s and con’s for Durham is she is pleased with her shooting game but she feels that she needs to do a better job of finishing the shots. “We will be playing at the Presidents Cup in Florida and then in Maryland at the Mid-Atlantic tournament,” said Durham.
“I am looking at some good academic schools like Cal Berkeley and Brown University and those kinds of schools.”
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The Coppell girls’ lacrosse team fell short this past season in the state championship game against St. John’s (21-0). The Cowgirls (18-3) are confidant 2016 will be their year. Two of the many reasons why Coppell has a strong shot at competing for a state title are the presence of sophomore Courtney Anderson and junior Liz Pease. Both girls have fun and aren’t fazed by much. When speaking to them you can tell everything is going to be okay and whatever happens, happens.
During C2C Spotlight this past weekend, both girls stood out. On Saturday night during the indoor session, Anderson showed great stick skills and fearlessness on defense. You can tell she loves to compete. Pease is quick and has a great shot on cage. Both girls have top Division I talent.
“Liz’s footwork, physical play and defensive vision make her a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end,” said Ford.
And Ford added her thoughts on Anderson, “Courtney is a player that picked up a stick just two years ago has come on the scene quickly with her lightning speed and footwork. She is a player that is never satisfied and is always striving for perfection.”
“I’m really grateful for it,” said Anderson of having top college programs interested in her. “It’s a really big opportunity and obviously hard, and as a sophomore thinking about college. It’s really fun that I get to plan my future and get to be a college lacrosse player.”
Pease added, “It’s a huge opportunity, a lot of kids don’t get that opportunity so I’m super grateful for it. And I’m going to work hard to get to the best place I can be to take advantage of the opportunities that I have.”
It’s refreshing to hear lacrosse players so grateful and a positive on their futures. In the Northeast, it’s not as difficult to be seen, the events are right in their backyards and the colleges are close by so they can be seen easily.
Players like Anderson and Pease are doing a great job of putting Texas girls’ lacrosse on the map. Said Pease: “Well, for a while it was almost like you had a chip on your shoulder, because if you came up and played in the northeast tournaments, people up there were like, ‘This team is from Texas?’
“They assume that you’re not good so proving that you are actually good is a great feeling,” added Pease, who plays defense for C2C and the Cowgirls. “And now that Texas is on the map it just rewards Texas girls that worked to get to the level they are now. Getting recruited by Syracuse and teams like that.”
Anderson adds, “Even though we aren’t the top state we can still compete with the northeast clubs and schools.”
Ford has scheduled some IAAM (Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland) schools for this upcoming season. Coppell has Bryn Mawr and Fords alma mater Notre Dame Prep (Where Fords dad is the head coach) on the schedule.
More coverage from C2C Spotlight
Click here for 10 boys that shined on Day 1.
Click here for 10 girls that shined on Day 1.
Click here for a recap of three boys and their experience at C2C Spotlight.
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