School: Abington
Field Hockey, Lacrosse
Favorite athlete: Chase Utley
Favorite team: Flyers
Favorite memory competing in sports: Last year when my team beat Council Rock North to win the league. Every single one of us gave 110 percent for the entire 50 minutes, and it was the best feeling in the world.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Last fall I was playing field hockey and got hit in the head with one of the sticks and ended up needing six stitches. But for the rest of the season, I had to wear a band-aid on my forehead to protect the scar from the sun during games.
Music on iPod: All rap and some pop. I love Weezy, Eminem and Katy Perry
Future plans: Next year I’m going to the University of Scranton and plan to play lacrosse there. I am majoring in education with a minor in math.
Words to live by: ‘If hard work pays off, then easy work is worthless.’
One goal before turning 30: To own a house and maybe even start a family.
One thing people don’t know about me: I’m part black and Puerto Rican.
Emily Towey has always been passionate about protecting the goal cage.
So when the jayvee team was in need of a goalie Towey’s freshman year, she eagerly volunteered. The Abington senior turned out to be a natural.
“I played defense, and I always loved protecting the cage,” Towey said. ““Playing goalie was something – I feel as though goalies are automatically the leader of the defense, and I wanted to step up and show my coach that I was ready to play, ready to win games.
“I took to it right away. I wasn’t anything amazing. I was beginning level, and I gradually got better.”
Towey’s coaches immediately saw her immense potential, and she did not disappoint. A second team all-league goalie last year, Towey – who bided her time behind standout Alisha Aquilino as a freshman and sophomore - is one of the area’s premier goalies.
“One thing with goalies is key – they have to be competitive,” coach Chris Aquilino said. “They also have to be athletic.”
Towey is both.
“Sometimes we’ll play keep-away, and Em’s one of the best players on the keep-away team as a goalie,” Aquilino said. “A lot of her saves are purely athletic.
“She looks like a goalie. It’s not like she’s one of those kids out there throwing her arms around. She can step to the ball, and her fundamentals are good.”
What sets Towey apart?
“Her quickness,” Aquilino said. “She’s quick, and her hand speed is really good. She can go down on the ball very quickly, and she can get the low balls quickly.”
If there was a weakness in Towey’s game coming into this season, according to Aquilino, it was in her clears, but she is an eager student of the game.
“We worked together all summer, and we changed some things,” the Ghosts’ first-year coach said. “She really couldn’t clear the ball that well, but this kid dedicated a couple of nights a week during the summer to do throwing exercises to get her clears better.
“Now her clears are better, and she is ready for college. She clears the ball on the dime, and she’s very good at stopping the ball.”
So good is Towey that she was recruited by both Division I and Division II schools. She has opted instead to play Division III lacrosse at the University of Scranton where she will major in secondary education with a minor in math.
“Throughout the summer, I got a bunch of D-1 and D-2 offers, but I realized I don’t want to make lacrosse my entire life,” Towey said. “I just want to make it part of my life in college.
“College is where you start your future. I figure if I play D-3, I’ll still get the full experience of being an athlete, but I’ll also get the social aspect, and I can spend more time studying and things like that.”
Towey chose Scranton from a final list that included Drexel, Marist and Millersville.
“The first time I stepped on that campus I loved it,” she said of Scranton. “I remember it was a really sunny day, and I just got the vibe – it was the kind of college campus you see in movies.
“I definitely didn’t want the city – it’s too hectic, and I went to other schools that were too rural. Scranton was like the perfect fit.
“When I went for my overnight, I had so much fun. I definitely clicked with all the girls. I went to one of their games, and I think I would definitely fit in with that group of girls playing-wise.”
Towey was first introduced to the sport of lacrosse when she was in second grade and began playing with the Abington Youth Lacrosse Club. She tried other sports as well but none stuck.
Initially, she played center but then moved to defense before she took on the job of goalie in ninth grade.
“I took a lot of one-on-one classes, and I went to a ton of clinics,” said Towey, who played club lacrosse for 380 Pottstown for three years. “Every clinic option – I always went to every one I could.”
Last year, with Towey in goal, the Ghosts were co-champs of the SOL National Conference. This year has been a rebuilding year for an Abington squad that took a huge hit to graduation and is very young. It also didn’t help that the team lost senior standout Molly Seefried (concussion) for a stretch of several weeks as well.
“It was definitely hard,” Towey said. “We are a really young team. Me and Carli (Fitzgerald) had to really step up and lead our team.
“In our first game of the season against Upper Dublin, we had Molly, and I think we all started clicking. Once we lost her, our younger players lost confidence. Me, Carli and Molly had a meeting, and we tried to figure out what we could do to make our team not lose confidence. Everyone thought just because we were Abington lacrosse we would have a good season. They didn’t realize they would have to work as hard as they do.”
According to Aquilino, Towey has been key in pulling this year’s young team together.
“Emily has been unbelievable for us,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Some of the games we’ve lost – the numbers could have been so terrible that you wouldn’t have been able to imagine.
“We lost to Hatboro 15-7. If Em wasn’t there, it would have been 15-0 at the end of the first half. We have a young defense, and we have a young team. Molly, Carli and Em have been part of a winning program that does not lose very often. We’re in a bit of a downturn this year, so they really have to keep their wits about them, or the other girls start to see that and feel that.”
Towey, a captain, remains optimistic about her final high school season.
“Our attack is working so good right now,” she said. “Today was probably one of the best practices we’ve had. We’re only 6-5, but I think we can pull out wins in the rest of our games.”
Lacrosse is just one aspect of Towey’s life. Last fall, she went out for field hockey for the first time.
“A lot of my friends were on the field hockey team, and I figured it would be something fun to do my senior year,” she said. “It was definitely intimidating at first. I remember our first scrimmage – I would get the ball, and I didn’t know what to do with it.
“I was like, ‘Where does the ball go?’”
It didn’t take Towey long to figure out what to do with by the ball. By the second game of the season, she had earned a starting position in the defensive backfield.
Away from the sporting field, Towey - a member of the National Honor Society - is very active in community service. For three straight years, she has received the Presidential Bronze Service Award given in recognition of 100 hours of community service.
Towey has spent countless hours volunteering her time to the community youth sports leagues, and this past spring she became involved with Quilts for Kids where she helped make quilts for hospitalized children. An honors student, she also is a member of Key Club, Alternative Sports Club and Leo Club.
Not surprisingly, she is reluctant to see her high school days at Abington come to an end.
“I love high school,” Towey said. “I have so much fun every day.
“It’s kind of scary because every September you knew what you were doing. You’d come back to school, and you’d be ready. This September it’s completely something new. I’m going to be at a school where I don’t know anyone, and I don’t know anything. It’s kind of intimidating.
“I’m excited to graduate, but I don’t want to leave all my friends.”
If the past is any indication, it’s a safe bet Towey will continue to excel as she begins a new chapter in her life.
