Soccer, Lacrosse
Favorite athlete: Alex Morgan. I grew up watching Alex Morgan, and I have always idolized her.
Favorite team: USA women’s soccer team. As I watched this team growing up, they influenced me to be the competitive and confident athlete I am today.
Favorite memory while competing in sports: My favorite memory while competing in sports was when our high school lacrosse team got to travel to Florida during last year's spring break.
The most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports:
Sophomore year I fell in the middle of the field with no one around me…
Music on playlist: On the bus ride to games or during warm-ups, I enjoy playing upbeat songs. Most of the music on our playlist for soccer and lacrosse consists of house music!
Future plans: I plan to attend American University to play lacrosse and major in Political Science.
Words to live by: “Practice how you play”
One goal before turning 30: I want to continue to push myself going into college and after. To try new things and step out of my comfort zone.
One thing people don’t know about me: I have a twin brother!
By Mary Jane Souder
There’s something about Springfield Township – the community and its high school – that sets it apart.
At least that’s the way senior Shannon Silvius sees it.
“For me, especially doing sports at Springfield, I’ve learned that our school and our community are so well-knit,” she said. “Everyone knows each other. You’ll be on the street, and cars will be driving by. You’ll know more than half of the people in the cars, and I’m not exaggerating.”
For Silvius, a captain of both the soccer and lacrosse teams, that tightly knit community begins with her involvement in sports at a school with one of the smallest student populations in the SOL.
“For soccer and lacrosse, every year our team is so close,” she said. “Our group chats are spamming 24/7. It’s like everyone loves to be together, loves to have a good time.
“You will never not catch us not smiling at practice and cracking jokes, but everyone also knows when to be serious, locked in. Everyone can come together and build each other up. I’ve learned it’s such an incredible and positive environment to be in, especially these last couple of years.
“Even when you’re coming from school and you’ve had a rough day or maybe had a bad test or went through something – immediately, I’m smiling at practice, no matter what it is. All the people on the team for lacrosse and soccer were able to instantly build me back up or put a smile on my face or make me laugh. It’s so hard to put into words how much I love the girls and how I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, to be honest.”
If it sounds as though being part of a sports team might be more of a kumbaya moment than an intensely competitive environment for Silvius, guess again. The senior standout is fiercely competitive and has turned her lacrosse talents into a ticket to play at the next level – she will be continuing her career at the D1 level when she enrolls at American University this fall.
She was a key member of last spring’s SOL American Conference co-championship lacrosse team, but it’s clear that competing on a team is about a whole lot more than just winning to Silvius – a fact that is not lost on first-year lacrosse coach Katrina Borzelleca.
“She is a great kid, she’s a great human being,” the Spartans’ first-year coach said. “She looks out for others, whether they’re her age or the younger kids.
“She’s constantly positive reinforcement and helping explain things. She’s one of my senior captains, and even before that was officially determined, she was stepping in and helping with things that I would need.”
Springfield girls’ soccer coach Chris Tomarelli echoed similar sentiments.
“I was a first-year coach, and I learned a lot from the girls, and Shannon was a big part of it,” the Spartans’ coach said. “Senior captain – she made all-league. She had a great work rate, great, great leadership, positive. That’s Shannon in a nutshell.
“She would stay after practice to get extra work, and she was the first one there. Always a smile on her face. She’s what you want a student-athlete to be.”
Back to the beginning
Shannon and her twin brother Paul were involved in sports since they were youngsters.
“We would always do township soccer – I was a big soccer girl when I was younger,” she said. “That was my sport. I was like – I’m doing this in college. I love this.
“I was obsessed with Alex Morgan and Mia Hamm. She was my school project in fifth grade.”
In fourth grade, Silvius was introduced to lacrosse through SGLC (Springfield Girls’ Lacrosse Club).
“It wasn’t my favorite, but it was something I had on the side with soccer,” she said. “Going into middle school and as I was getting older, I think I enjoyed lacrosse more than soccer.
“It was one of those things where soccer kind of petered out going into high school. I just realized I enjoyed it more, and I was more competitive with it.”
In fifth grade, Silvius joined Headstrong on the lacrosse club circuit, and the pendulum had definitely swung in the favor of lacrosse.
“In seventh or eighth grade, I switched club teams because one of my favorite coaches was moving to this club called Reign,” she said. “It was a new club that just started up, and I joined it because my favorite coach was going there.”
Silvius stayed with Reign for the remainder of her club playing years, and it was while playing with Reign that her recruiting journey began.
“I have always been competitive with sports,” she said. “I knew whatever sport it was – I was going to want to continue it in college, whether it was playing soccer like Mia Hamm did at UNC – that was my dream, but when I started to become serious with lacrosse – it was eventually lacrosse.
“I started to figure it out – I would say in eighth grade, which is when girls started to get more serious, doing the extra tournaments in summer – the Philly Tournaments, the Under Armour Tournaments. That’s when I came to the realization – I want to do this, I want to play in college.”
Recruiting for lacrosse, according to Silvius, is done primarily on the club circuit.
“Freshman year I was kind of getting used to what it’s like to really get into it – it’s very competitive in the recruiting process,” the senior captains said. “You have to really learn how to do all the emails and reach out to the schools.
‘Freshman year, I wasn’t really doing that, but at the end of sophomore year is when you start going to camps. The whole summer you’re doing all the ID camps and doing different tournaments. Definitely at the tournaments for your club team is where coaches go to see you play. At the end of sophomore year going into junior year of high school is when you’re in the thick of recruiting.”
When it came time to choose a college, strong academics were a priority.
“I was looking at the NESCACs in D3, the very good academic schools there,” said Silvius of New England Small College Athletic Conference. “I was also considering the Patriot League because all the schools in the Patriot League are pretty high academics.
“I’ve always loved the DC area, so I was looking for schools around there as well, and American kind of stuck out to me.”
The Washington, D.C., school – which competes in the Patriot League - checked all the boxes for Silvius, who visited numerous Patriot League schools.
“I immediately fell in love with the area,” she said. “And also how the players speak of their school. They speak so highly of all their classes and academics as a whole.
“I knew this was not only good for me for the team but also for what I want to do in life in my future.”
American reached out to Silvius in September of her junior year. She committed in October.
“I really loved it when I went here, so when they reached out to me – I knew this is what I wanted,” Silvius said. “It wasn’t that hard of a decision for me going into it.”
Changes, there were changes
Silvius competes in two sports at Springfield Twp, and both had new coaches in this her final year. While that often poses challenges, particularly for the seniors, the transition was smooth for both. Although soccer is her second sport, Silvius continued to work hard at it.
“I still enjoy soccer,” she said. “I decided to do it in high school just to have something in the fall. I’m also a competitive person.
“A lot of my friends play soccer, and being with my friends is definitely a plus for soccer. Just having a team to go through the fall with especially through the homecoming activities - it all comes together. I knew I still wanted to do soccer in high school.”
Tomarelli is certainly glad she did.
“She doesn’t talk about herself – it’s always the team and her teammates and competing and having fun at the same time,” the Spartans’ coach said. “Having that senior leadership as a first-year coach is so crucial.
“In the moment – when it’s right in front of you, you don’t realize until afterwards all the little things she did to keep the team together, to keep the team positive. We only won six games, but we lost a bunch by a goal. She kept the girls coming in with a smile on their faces.”
Borzelleca is the new face on the sidelines for a lacrosse team that graduated seven seniors from last year’s championship squad – six who went on to play in college.
“In the beginning when all the seniors were graduating and our coach decided it was time to move on, there definitely was a period of panic,” Silvius said. “It was during the summer, and for a month, it was – the seniors are gone, we don’t have a coach. What’s going on?
“I heard our athletic directors were really getting at it, trying to find a coach, and I know how lucky we are with the coaches we have now.”
Borzelleca took intentional steps to make the transition as seamless as possible.
“I met with them in November just to say, ‘Hey, what are some traditions that I need to know about. I’m not coming in and blowing up the whole program,’” the Spartans’ coach said. “I wanted to be in the know if there was anything I needed to understand. Shannon was just very good at
communicating what they did before, what they were looking forward to and all of that.”
The meeting – which included Silvius and fellow senior captains Natalie Rittler and Jess Shapley - was significant for both sides.
“She brought us to Starbucks to talk,” Silvius said. “We sat down and talked for two hours about our goals and what we want for the team.
“She’s very good at making sure that us as seniors are heard, especially coming from last year – she wanted to know our goals and stuff we had from last year, and she wants it all to transition into this year. She was really good with that. She set the tone for what I knew she wanted going into the season and she knew what we wanted. So, I was like – ‘I think we got this. I shouldn’t be worried right now. I have very good coaches.’ The transition was smooth if I’m being honest.”
It hasn’t taken long for Borzelleca to recognize what Silvius, a midfielder, brings to the team.
“She’s a strong attacker, she reads the field really well, but she’s got a good sense on defense as well,” the Spartans’ coach said. “When she sets her mind on going to goal, she’s going to try to do that, but she’s also looking to feed her teammates too. She’s very unselfish in that regard.”
Looking ahead
Off the athletic field, Silvius is a member of student council, and she also excels in the classroom where she has taken a course load of honors and AP classes. This fall, she plans to major in political science at American.
“Everyone keeps asking me – do you want to be a lawyer?” she said. “If I’m being honest, I’m not quite sure, but I’m sure I’ll be able to zone in on that when I’m in DC because I have that opportunity.”
The decision to pursue political science came after taking an AP Government class last year.
“I loved it,” Silvius said. “it was my favorite class. I was like – I can’t not do that and be in DC. I have to give it a try.”
For now, Silvius is focused on her final lacrosse season.
“Shannon is constantly trying to learn, constantly trying to better herself and help better her teammates and the team as a whole,” Borzelleca said. “She’s that kind of kid.
“We want to be competitive, and we want to be serious, but we also have fun. She can do all of those things – she can zone in and get the kids ready, and she can also be smiling and goofing off, just like me. She’s just really the ultimate leader in all of those aspects.
