The sophomore offensive sniper is third in the Olympic Conference in goal scoring and has saved her biggest performances for some of Seneca’s biggest games in 2017.
Sophomore Cassidy Spilis could be described as a jack of all trades on offense for Seneca High School girls lacrosse.
Head coach Morgan Crothers said her players are required to do a little bit of everything in the team’s offensive system. Spilis is the perfect fit.
“Even though she scores a lot, she does a lot more,” Crothers said. “She’s picking, feeding, passing, getting out of the way for people.”
In just her second high school season, Spilis has emerged as one of South Jersey’s top offensive threats. Entering Seneca’s game on May 11 against Kingsway Regional High School, Spilis had tallied 57 goals in 2017, the third-most in the Olympic Conference behind only Cherokee High School’s Gab Bodine and Camden Catholic High School’s Saige Lyn Gidzinski. It is Spilis’ second straight 50-goal season. She earned her 100th career goal on May 4 in Seneca’s 16–6 win over Rancocas Valley Regional High School.
Spilis entered high school with a ton of experience. She began playing lacrosse in kindergarten with the Seneca youth program and joined the South Jersey Selects club team around middle school.
“That kind of competition is a high level,” Spilis said about South Jersey Selects. “It really helped me get to that next level.”
No amount of experience could help calm Spilis’ nerves prior to her first high school practice during her freshman year in 2016.
“I remember pulling into the parking lot on the first day of practice,” Spilis said. “My sister and her friend drove me to school. I remember asking them, ‘Do you guys think I’ll make varsity?’ I was so nervous, I was literally shaking going into practice.”
Crothers saw Spilis has superior skills entering the program as a freshman. Those skills earned Spilis a regular role on varsity right away.
“I think she’s had really good stick work,” Crothers said. “She has that really good determination to go to goal. Between the two of them, she had the skills she needed and the challenging power to get the ball in the net.”
Spilis was able to settle down with the help of a strong senior core and talented teammates on offense.
“With the help of Crothers and my teammates, I think my confidence is my biggest part,” Spilis said on where she had improved the most. “They really support me all around the field, and that helps me with every aspect.”
In 2016, Spilis was third on the team in goals with 50 and helped the Golden Eagles advance to the South Jersey Group III championship game, where Seneca lost to Moorestown High School.
This season, Spilis has been Seneca’s main goal scorer. She has scored at least three goals in all but one game played and has tallied at least five goals in six different games.
Her biggest performances have come in the biggest games. Going against undefeated Lenape High School in late April, Spilis nearly led her team on a huge come-from-behind win. She scored six goals in Seneca’s 15–14 loss. The Golden Eagles trailed by seven goals at halftime in that game.
Last Tuesday, when Seneca hosted district-rival Shawnee High School, Spilis was at her best again. With Seneca trailing, 6–3, at halftime, Spilis helped lead her team on a second-half comeback. Spilis scored seven times in the team’s 12–11 win.
“I was a little nervous coming into the season,” Spilis said. “But it shows, in games like Shawnee, we’ve learned to play as a unit. We have so much talent on this team. We have great leaders.”
Spilis has already verbally committed to play lacrosse at Rutgers University after she graduates, where she looks forward to joining former Seneca teammate Samantha Scarpello, who is a freshman at Rutgers this year.
For now, however, Spilis is looking to help Seneca’s program to new heights. As of May 10, Seneca was third in the South Jersey Group III power rankings behind only Moorestown and Ocean City high schools, according to laxpower.com. Spilis said the Golden Eagles are eyeing a second straight trip to the sectional title game this year.
