“On a team full of all-stars, I picked Maddie because of what she did during the week,” Salmon said of the midfielder who was also named the all-MCAL player of the year. “She was a dynamic stimulus towards keeping the girls on track.”
Spiess saw her time on the field as a pleasure worth celebrating.
“The girls on MC all play with huge heart,” said Spiess, who joins her fellow first-team all-leaguer from MC Juliana Strazulo when the pair enroll at Drew University to play for the school’s NCAA Division III program. “If you play together as a team and get along, you have a chance to be a part of a great lacrosse team. That happened for us.”
In her eyes, playing lacrosse is way to blow off steam from a long day in the classroom.
“I always enjoyed running onto the field, six days a week. Lacrosse has always been a way to let go of everything else,” Spiess said.
When Spiess considers her biggest lacrosse influences at MC, she gives credit to Salmon, former MC coach Whitney Hanley and current assistant coach Chase Delano.
“Whitney Hanley taught me how to play lacrosse. She put me out there even though I didn’t know what I was doing,” Spiess said. “Rob is the sweetest coach he is the most positive man. He taught me about leadership and being a good captain. Chase Delano graduated from Middlebury and had such great insights. She is so lively and I loved that she played music during practices.”
– Dave Allen