“You know, in reality, I hate these bus rides. The seats are all torn up, the ride is always bumpy, never smooth and the driver is always angry. I don’t know how I’ve done it these past four years of high school. The only thing that got me through was all of my teammates and best friends, I really do love you guys and will never forget all the memories we’ve had; slip and sliding through puddles when it rained too hard, sharing laughs on the bus, beating Tuscarora (High School) in OT, I’m really going to miss you guys and I love you all,” said Madison Stair, as she addressed her team on the bus before one last match.
Stair is a 5’10 sophomore midfielder on the Longwood women’s lacrosse team. Last year, she led all freshmen with 17 goals and four assists in 17 games last season.
The Longwood women’s lacrosse team has a 7-8 record this season, and is 3-3 in Big South matches. The Lancers have not had it easy in conference play, but have had some tough luck, suffering two of their defeats by only two goals or fewer (Liberty, 12-11, and Winthrop, 10-8).
Stair is already one of the critical components of the team’s midfield and attack. Through just 14 games, Stair has already surpassed last season’s numbers, notching 36 goals and six assists.
Stair started playing lacrosse as a fourth-grader for her elementary school. “I was trying to get into sports and one day in school, they handed out a paper to play lacrosse and so me and all my friends signed up for it,” said Stair.
Stair continued to play lacrosse through middle school and her high school career, becoming a four-year letterman in this time. Stair attended Walkersville High School located in Frederick, Maryland, graduating with high honors.
Stair was well decorated in high school, receiving the MVP award three out of her four years at Walkersville. “I think my most successful moment was receiving MVP three years in a row for lacrosse and academically my most successful moment would be getting into the National Honor Society,” said Stair.
Stair’s effort on both ends of the field has been noticed by her teammates as well. “Madison’s done a really good job of placing her shots, as well as using her height to her advantage. She works really hard and always re-defends to the other thirty, if not more,” said freshman teammate Bethany Scott.
The Lancers have two more conference games remaining, and have their sights set on a high seed in the upcoming Big South tournament. Scott highlighted the team’s need to play well and put up quality wins in their final games to go into the tournament strong.
“We’ve had a few really close games that we could have won, but we also came up with some big wins this season. I’m really optimistic about the upcoming games, all the games will be tough but I believe our team can come out on top,” said Scott.
The Lancers’ next matchup is against High Point and spirits are high within the team. “I believe we still have a high chance of being a top seed and going all the way,” says freshman Jessica Sanfillippo.
