Athlete of the Week: Laura Lesnick, Lacrosse

In her third year at Penn State, Laura Lesnick is finally finding her voice.

When the midfielder first arrived on campus, she was quiet on the field despite earning immediate playing time, women’s lacrosse head coach Suzanne Isidor said. Now, as a junior with two senior captains already out of the lineup, Lesnick has become a vocal leader and a source of motivation for the No. 18 Nittany Lions.

“This year I think she’s stepped up, being more vocal,” Isidor said. “She isn’t someone that talks all the time, but she talks when she needs to and people listen to her.”

Lesnick said she thinks the change is just something that’s come with age.

“I think being an upperclassman, I learned a lot from my freshman and sophomore years,” Lesnick said. “I have experience I might as well put to use.”

Last season, Lesnick finished fourth on the Lions with 22 goals. Through two games in 2010, she is off to a fast start, netting a team-high four goals, including the eventual game-winner in the season opener against No. 14 Loyola.

Her success comes as no surprise to senior midfielder Theresa Bucci. Having shared the midfield position with Lesnick for three years, Bucci has come to view Lesnick’s recent performances to be routine.

“She’s a great player,” Bucci said. “She never lets up whether it’s a practice or a game. She’s always pushing everybody to get better…I’m never afraid to have her in the game with me or worry that she’s going to make a mistake because she doesn’t.”

Born in Baltimore and raised in Jarrettsville, Md., Lesnick comes from a lacrosse hotbed that also serves as home for nearly half of her teammates. At North Hartford High School, she was a 2007 Under Armour All-American and played club lacrosse for the North East Maryland Selects, a program that sends multiple athletes to Division I schools on a yearly basis.

Lesnick said coming from an area with such great players and expectations only drives her to be better.

“Coming from Maryland, [being the best] is definitely a driving force,” she said. “You always want to play at the best level.”

In the 9-8 win over Loyola, Lesnick spent the first half drawing a lot of defensive attention in the transition game and was able to create shots for herself in the second half, Isidor said, adding that her play carried over to the 15-2 defeat of Bucknell earlier this week.

“She did a great job of controlling things on both ends of the field,” Isidor said. “She’s definitely one of those players who can really do it all.”