Eyes watching the match unfold, girls lacrosse senior captain Reese Wilson stands strong as the last line of defense between the opposing team and the goal. The ball comes flying her way. 

Bang!

The ball is saved, and Wilson feels a wave of relief after preventing the other team from scoring. She then has four seconds left in the crease to either pass or run with the ball. 

As a goalie, Wilson’s primary role is to prevent the ball from making it into the goal. As a captain, Wilson’s primary role is to be a leader for her team.

“I wanted to be somewhere more aggressive, plus I’ve always liked the leader dynamic of it,” Wilson said. “I feel like a really big essential role of being on D is hearing everyone and communicating with everybody else.”

Wilson has been one of the team captains for the past two years. After years of being in division 1, the team moved down to division 2.

“Last year was hard because I was the only junior captain and we had two seniors after graduating eight seniors,” Wilson said. “It was just like a really big shift for me personally especially after us being like the top team in D1 sophomore year.”

Wilson has committed to Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado to continue her academic career and play division 2 lacrosse next year. Wilson is majoring in exercise science and decided to play division 2 in order to have less of a time commitment.

“I didn’t want to go somewhere super huge like Austin,” Wilson said.  “I just wanted to go somewhere a bit more calm so I could just focus on myself and not have as many distractions.  It was really nice being able to find somewhere where I was able to get academic, athletic and a housing waiver.”

The team is coached by Marissa Eirheart, who believes that Reese made a positive impact on the team and is excited to see her career continue 

“Reese’s passion for the game of lacrosse is above and beyond most,” Eirheart said. “She held herself and her teammates to high standards which made everyone around her better players. Her mixture of fun and seriousness will be missed on and off the field.”

Wilson’s teammates are saddened to see her leave but are excited to see her begin a new lacrosse journey. Sophomore Maly Janicek thanks Wilson for pushing the team to success.

“I think Reese’s impact on the team has been nothing but beneficial,” Janicek said. “She’s always so supportive and inclusive of everyone. She’s a natural-born leader who has a strong sense of personal responsibility for change and success.”

The process of applying and committing to colleges is challenging for many athletes. Wilson started the process in freshman year by joining travel club teams and joining ​​the Next College Student Athelete (NCSA) program.

“I didn’t want to wait until senior year to figure all of that out,” Wilson said. “I needed to be committing somewhere for the school and not for the coach. You don’t want to commit somewhere for the coach because you know if they quit you don’t want to be stuck somewhere you don’t want to be just because the coach left.”

Wilson is considering minoring in coaching and plans on continuing to be involved in lacrosse after graduating from college.

“When I do go to get my masters or my grad I can go to a school and I can be an assistant coach for a college team which I think would be super fun,” Wilson said. “I feel like I’ll still really miss that whole dynamic of sports and being with teams and stuff.”

After the long process of committing to a college, Wilson is excited for the few next years of her collegiate and athletic life.

“When you are on the field there is like a full 360-degree view of the mountain range and the snow,” Wilson said. “Nothing else in Colorado beats that view.”