Danielle Harrington, a senior at Plainedge High School, has committed to playing lacrosse at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA for the start of the 2014-2015 school year.
Franklin & Marshall College, a division three private school in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, enrolls 2,324 students per year and was placed at number 86 in Forbes’s list of America’s Top Colleges. The lacrosse team is run by Coach Michael Faith and assisted by Christina Fried and Sarah Cullinan. The team won the 2009 NCAA championship and has since been recognized as a powerhouse in Division III.
Harrington, the starting goalie for this year’s varsity team at Plainedge, found the college online and was very interested in trying to get recruited.
“I did a camp there and talked with the coach about recruitment, after I left we emailed back and forth and [Coach Faith] came down to watch me play in some of my tournaments,” Harrington said.
She was invited for an overnight stay with the team, where she bonded with the team and got a feel for what playing with that crew would be like. At the end of the stay, the coach asked Harrington to join the team and she accepted the offer. However, division three schools don’t give any type of athletic scholarships, so she would just be playing there without any type of monetary compensation. For Harrington, this is no problem because she plays “for the excitement of the game.”
Once training starts, she will be battling with another player for the spot of back-up goalie. Signing with a school can be very nerve-racking and difficult and Harrington’s case was no different. She describes her experience as stressful but she is relieved to finally be signed to a team. She is excited to go to college and, at this moment, is confident that she will adjust to college life well, with a major in biology and pre-med.
Her current lacrosse coach, Anthony Giovanelli, said Harrington will bring the same leadership and intensity to college lacrosse as she did in high school.
“Both Franklin & Marshall and Danielle are lucky to have each other,” he said. “She’ll have the opportunity to compete for a national title throughout her college career and the Diplomats will have a determined leader in between the pipes. I’m lucky to have had the opportunity to watch Danielle grow up to become not only a great athlete but a remarkable young lady.”
Three other Plainedge girls lacrosse players also got signed to college lacrosse teams late last year: Jessica Fischetti (St. Francis College), Jacqueline Kennedy (Pfeiffer University) and Rebecca Luca (Belmont Abby College).
