Field Hockey, Lacrosse
Favorite athlete: Zac Rinaldo
Favorite team: Flyers
Favorite memory competing in sports: My favorite memory is in ninth grade when we went into overtime against Norristown and eventually won a varsity league game for the first time in years. Our team had a lot of younger girls starting, and it was great to see what we were a part of, and the many things that would come from that.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: A lot of my friends came to one of my first field hockey games as a sophomore, and during the game while playing defense, a shot deflected off my stick into our goal. I never heard the end of it.
Music on iPod: Everything.
Future plans: I plan to pursue a career in business with a concentration in fashion merchandising and marketing.
Words to live by: “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
One goal before turning 30: I would like to go to New York Fashion Week.
One thing people don’t know about me: I have a pet tarantula.
By Mary Jane Souder
Sarah Reice’s resume is an impressive one.
The Upper Moreland senior is captain of both the varsity field hockey and lacrosse teams. Off the field, she is co-president of her school’s Key Club and has been the treasurer of Class Council since she was a freshman. An excellent student who boasts a full course load of AP classes, she is a member of the National Honor Society and boasts a GPA of over 96 percent. She is ranked 22nd in her senior class and is involved in countless activities both in and out of school.
But that’s not what sets Reice apart. Rather, it’s her irrepressible, indomitable spirit that enables the UM senior to turn any situation into a positive.
Talk to her about being part of a pair of teams that have won just a handful of games, and her response is immediate.
“It is tough, but I think about how much improvement we’ve made, and that’s what I use to keep going,” Reice said. “My freshman year for lacrosse we hadn’t won a game for years before I came up, and we won our first league game that year, and since then, we’ve only gotten better.
“To other people, we still might not be viewed as that good, but for me personally being with the program for so long, I know how far we’ve come, and I know how far we can go, and I know I’ve been part of such a big transition.”
Although short in stature, Reice – a defender in both hockey and lacrosse – won’t back down to anyone.
“I have the mentality that I want to stop the other team, and I get really aggressive,” she said. “I like making them not able to score, and I’m not aggressive enough to score.”
A second team all-league defender in hockey last fall, Reice, according to her coach, has invariably found herself matched up against the opposing team’s tallest player ever since she took the field as a freshman.
“Never once has she let their size intimidate her,” said coach Karen Grossi of her 5-0 defensive back. “Rather she’s eager to show them and everyone else how well she can handle them.
“She has a positive attitude and always gives her all in the classroom and on the field. The other girls always look up to her.”
It’s the same story on the lacrosse field. Reice, according to coach Pam Remmey, is a walking advertisement for the ‘grit’ the veteran coach is looking for from her players.
“To make it through a lacrosse season, there are going to be good times and bad times, so we’ve talked a lot about grit and what the word means,” Remmey said. “She was one of the players that won the grit award for her play.
“Overcoming adversity – that’s what grit is. When we’re getting a lot of goals scored on us, it’s being positive, being positive with the younger players and having grit throughout that game or throughout the season or even throughout a practice when things aren’t going right. She has really embraced the idea of grit.”
It wasn’t surprising that Reice was in the middle of the action when the lacrosse team pulled off its biggest win in memory with a 10-8 win over Springfield (Montco) that saw the Golden Bears rally from an 8-3 second half deficit to earn the victory.
“The win was really what we needed,” Reice said. “We knew that we were improving, and this was a new year and a new team, but we hadn’t really proved it to anyone but ourselves. The win showed the league we are ready to fight and to win.”
Reice displays a similar spirit off the athletic fields, boasting plenty of what Remmey calls ‘Bear Pride.’ In addition to participating in numerous volunteer activities offered through Key Club, she was actively involved in the planning of the school’s Mini-Thon the past two years and was in charge of the design committee this year. After raising more than $7,000 last year, the six-hour dance marathon raised over $10,000 this year to help fight pediatric cancer.
“I pretty much love bringing the school together,” Reice said. “We’re unique because our school is a lot smaller than other schools so we’ve known each other all the way through everything.
“My friends I’ve been friends with since first grade. I really like getting involved in all these clubs just to get people to come out and do things together and know we can make a difference in our school and in our community and even in the world.”
As for sports, Reice has been competing since she signed up to play community softball in fourth grade. In middle school, field hockey and lacrosse entered the picture, and lacrosse replaced softball in the spring.
“I liked how fast paced it is, and it’s a really physical sport, so you could really get into it,” Reice said. “With softball, you were standing around, and there was no contact.
“That sounds really violent, and I don’t mean it like that, but it’s a very hands-on sport.”
As a freshman, Reice found herself in the starting varsity lineup for the lacrosse team, and she’s never left. Although she has a job, she still finds time to coach indoor lacrosse for the Upper Moreland Girls’ Lacrosse Club.
Reice, who has never had a hard time finding the up side during difficult seasons, was a natural choice for captain.
“We’re really in a tough league, and you just have to tell people – it’s about making progress,” she said. “We use the word grit a lot because grit is overcoming obstacles, and the season is going to be overcoming a lot of obstacles.
“Anything can happen, no matter who you’re playing. We could be playing Upper Dublin or Hatboro-Horsham (the top teams in the league), and you never know what’s going to happen. We just say, ‘You try your best, you play your game, and anything can happen.’”
Remmey, herself a fierce competitor, has found a kindred spirit in Reice.
“I have really relied on Sarah along with a couple of the other captains to do everything as far as communication and organization of the team,” Remmey said. “They have been good role models for the younger kids, and we have relied on the seniors to bring those young girls up and make them feel comfortable and part of the team. That’s what Sarah is really good at. She really wants to embrace the younger players and make sure they’re comfortable on the team.”
Reice is a leader of the Bears’ defense, but her contributions extend beyond the field.
“Sarah’s a good communicator,” Remmey said. She’s a good organizer of people, and she’s on top of everything. She’s very enthusiastic and energetic. She’s small, and she’s like a fireplug of spirit, enthusiasm and energy, so we get along great.
“One of the things that has been important to the program is having pride in Upper Moreland girls’ lacrosse – being proud of being on the team and being proud of the things we do. She’s all about that. She’s all about Bear pride and Upper Moreland school spirit. She loves everything about it.”
Next fall, Reice will attend the University of Colorado at Boulder where she will major in finance with an interest in fashion design and merchandising.
“I really love to go shopping,” she said with a laugh when asked what sparked her interest in that major. “I’m not creative enough to strictly design, but merchandising is the business of fashion.
“I’m strong in math, and I’m fairly good with people skills. If I could do the behind-the-scenes stuff, that would be awesome.”
As for how she wound up at the University of Colorado, she’s not really sure.
“I kind of just applied there,” Reice said. “I’m very spontaneous, so one day I was like, ‘I’m just going to go there,’ and that’s kind of how it happened.
“I never visited, but my family has always traveled. My parents met in California, and I was born in Hawaii. We’re like a traveling family, so I’m like, ‘My parents did it. I’m going to do it. Why not?’
“This is the one time you get to basically go live wherever you want with no strings attached, so I’m going to go to Colorado.”
Bet on Reice bringing the same spirit and energy she brought to Upper Moreland for four years to the Boulder campus as well.
