On Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, Hatboro-Horsham seniors Morgan Crostarosa, Carly Daley, Keeley Henry and Sydney Rausa were recognized for signing letters of intent to compete in lacrosse at the collegiate level. To view photos of the signing event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
“These seniors were part of a team that hadn’t lost a Suburban One League game in three years,” coach Duncan Swezey said. “They did get guidance, and they had the ability and the opportunity to play with some older girls who played in front of them and were very successful. They learned what was expected of them, they played against very good players at practice.
“Our schedule last year – bar none – I could almost say we played as hard a schedule as anyone. We played five of the top six teams in the state, and they were playing the girls that are playing at the next level. I think that worked in their favor.”
Morgan Crostarosa – Millersville University (Lacrosse)
Major: Sports Management
Final list of colleges: Millersville, Kutztown, Widener
Reasons for choosing Millersville: “It really came down to Widener and Millersville. They were both close, and then my biggest things was D-2 or D-3, and I wanted a little more competitive environment at Millersville. It also felt more homey.”
What was the progression that led you to playing lacrosse at the collegiate level: “I started thinking about it when I went to my new team – Quaker City. Coach D has produced a lot of good players, and he really, really helped. I really wanted to keep doing what I liked. I was a little behind because I didn’t choose to do that until last season.
Coach Duncan Swezey says: “Morgan spent most of her time playing on jayvee and just last year came up to varsity. She worked hard. She wasn’t the fastest kid, but she was silent but deadly. You wouldn’t know she was around, and all of a sudden – boom, and they weren’t expecting it. There were different games she came up big. She basically picked up the slack when others were being keyed on, so she had some great opportunities to step up and help the team out in some pretty big games. That was awesome for her.”
About Morgan:
Favorite food: Pasta of any kind.
Favorite movie: The Replacements
Favorite music: Country
Carly Daley – West Chester University (Lacrosse)
Major: Communications
Final list of colleges: West Chester, La Salle
Reasons for choosing West Chester: “I was committed to La Salle the beginning of my junior year, and then I decided I was not going to play lacrosse. West Chester reached out to me and I visited, and I fell in love with it, so I decided I was going to play lacrosse for them.
“It’s a beautiful campus, and the coaches and team are all so close. I fell in love with it right away, and I could tell the girls really enjoyed being there and were not just forcing it – they actually enjoyed it.”
What was the progression that led you to playing lacrosse at the collegiate level? “My sister (Cortnee) plays D-1 at Louisville, so it was always D-1 or D-none, and I never considered going to a D-2 or D-3 school. They’d reach out to me, but I’d never really consider it. My sister was like, ‘You should look at West Chester. I want you to play lacrosse, but I want you to be happy.’ I looked at it, and that weekend I said to my parents, ‘I want to commit here.’ Right away, I was like, ‘I want to go here.’ I’m not fazed by the fact that I’m not going D-1. They’ve been to the final four multiple times, they’ve won national championships. They said, ‘If you want to win a national championship, come here.’ I want to do that.”
Coach Duncan Swezey says: “Carly is more of a role player. She wasn’t that go-to player, but she had very, very good stick skills, very good speed and a pretty good field sense as well. On another team, she might have had an opportunity to perhaps score more and be more involved in the offense. She had her opportunities because of her stick skills.”
About Carly:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite movie: Dumb & Dumber
Favorite music: Rap
Keeley Henry – University of Massachusetts – Lowell (Lacrosse)
Major: Undeclared
Final list of colleges: UMass-Lowell, Bloomsburg, Coastal Carolina
Reasons for choosing UMass-Lowell: “It is a far drive, but just everything when I visited – I felt like I could see myself going to college there. All the girls on the team were really nice, and the coaches really reached out and helped me with the whole recruiting process, and it made me feel more welcome.”
What was the progression that led you to playing collegiate lacrosse? “I played lacrosse because I loved it. My sister (Jane) is two years older, and she started thinking about playing in college, and that kind of made me think about it – ‘I want to take this to the next level, and I definitely want to play in college.’
“The four of us started playing lacrosse together with HGLC in first grade, and it’s cool we’re all signing together because we’ve been playing with each other this whole time.”
Coach Duncan Swezey says: “Keeley is like her sister – as a defensive player, they don’t tend to get the accolades that everybody gets with the goals and the points. They’re a different type of player to coach, and it’s a different type of encouragement because they’re not seeing it in the paper. You have to provide that in practice and games. You can lean on them because I think sometimes they’re mentally tougher than some midfielders and attackers because it’s a difficult job, and they’re unheralded. Keeley is a smart player in the back, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and that’s the key.”
About Keeley:
Favorite food: Mac ‘n Cheese
Favorite movie: Go With It
Favorite music: Beyoncé
Sydney Rausa – University of Delaware (Lacrosse)
Major: Exercise Science
Final list of colleges: Delaware, James Madison, George Washington, High Point
Reasons for choosing Delaware: “Basically, I liked the geographical location and all the majors it had to offer. When I was looking, I wanted to do speech therapy, but I knew I had to pick a big school that could accommodate me if I wanted to change my major because I was so young when I picked my school. Going to a big school with a lot of options was a big thing, and also, it was close to home, and it has a good lacrosse program. The girls were awesome, the coaches were awesome.”
What was the progression that led you to playing lacrosse at the collegiate level? “I started looking at schools the end of my freshman year and the beginning of my sophomore year. I committed in (the spring) of my sophomore year, but it was a really long process.
“With my sister (playing lacrosse) at Georgetown, I knew that following in her footsteps was going to be a thing. Playing lacrosse is a thing in my family. I’ve been playing lacrosse since first grade. It was something I knew I wanted to continue doing.”
Coach Duncan Swezey says: “Syd was the team leader last year. She’s very evasive, she has great stick skills, great field sense. I know Delaware has high aspirations for her. At different times during the recruiting process, I was on the phone with the coaching staff at Delaware talking about Syd, and they have very high hopes for her. Last year, I think she got way better than the year before.”
About Syd:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite movie: The Fault in Our Stars
Favorite music: Zedd
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