After spending three years on the field with the girls varsity lacrosse team, Danielle La Rocca will step onto the field for one more year before heading to a NCAA Division I school.
On Wednesday, Feb. 6, La Rocca signed a letter of intent with Quinnipiac University.
She started playing lacrosse in fifth grade with the Voorhees Vortex Youth Lacrosse team, but lacrosse was La Rocca’s second sport.
“I was mainly a soccer player, but from eighth grade going into high school I liked lacrosse better,” La Rocca said.
Ever since she started high school, La Rocca has been dedicated to playing center for the team, and when she watched students sign letters of intent on Eastern’s broadcast station, she had her mind set on doing the same.
“I always wanted to do that. It was like a dream come true,” she said, adding she chose to sign with Quinnipiac because of its nursing program and the campus atmosphere.
“I could see myself here for four years,” she said.
Although it might be La Rocca’s last year on the field as a Viking, the season has just begun. The Olympic Conference team is up against a tough season.
Teams such as Washington Township, Lenape, Seneca and Cherokee make the season challenging. But La Rocca said all teams in the Olympic Conference are tough.
“Everyone in the Olympic Conference is a rival,” she said.
As for her strategy on the field, La Rocca said she puts effort into every practice and game to make her a better player.
“Just go hard the whole time you are here because you get as much as you put into it,” she said.
She said she is looking forward to the preseason ending and for the games to begin.
Girls lacrosse team head coach Lauren Ferrara said La Rocca is ready to move onto Quinnipiac.
“She has the confidence to be able to be an impact there early on. She’s never one to stay in the shadows and not speak up if something needs to be said. She is a vocal leader,” Ferrara said.
She said La Rocca’s performance on the field makes the transition from an Olympic Conference team to a Division I team easy.
“Her play is very aggressive in its nature. Playing at the next level is a natural step for her. It shouldn’t be a leap.
“It’s going to be a natural progression,” she said.
Ferrara has confidence in La Rocca’s transition to Quinnipiac, but La Rocca thinks it will be a different experience.
“It’s going to be difficult, but I am up for the challenge. It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of effort from my parents and me,” she said.
During the offseason, and before college, La Rocca said she plans on training at Velocity Sports Performance in Cherry Hill. But at the end of the day, La Rocca will miss her experiences playing for Eastern as well as with her teammates.
“I am going to miss playing with my best friends because I have played with these girls forever. It’s going to be weird not playing with them,” she said.
