Editor’s note: This is one of many articles Phillylacrosse.com is re-posting as it restores content as a result of its redesign this spring
By Devon Mongeluzzi
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/1/09
Re-Posted 6/27/10
Unionville All-American goalie Melissa Lloyd, a rising senior, has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at Penn State.
Lloyd is familiar with Penn State lacrosse because her brother, rising junior Billy Lloyd, plays for the Nittany Lions’ men’s team.
“Over the years I’ve been to a ton of my brother’s games” she said, “But I visited Penn State for myself in December and really liked the campus and I loved all the coaches.”
Lloyd, who plans to major in Physical Therapy, started playing goalie freshman year when Unionville needed to fill the empty position.
“John Rohde, the men’s lacrosse coach, was my goalie coach and he stayed after practice with
me everyday for three whole seasons,” she said. “I feel like he should be recognized because I owe a lot of my success to him.”
Lloyd was a first-team All-American, All-Phillylacrosse.com and All-Ches-Mont League pick for the Indians, who went 21-4 and fell to Strath Haven in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) semifinals. Unionville also won the Ches-Mont League crown with a perfect 11-0 record.
Lloyd was excited about Unionville’s unexpected success. “We went into the year thinking it wouldn’t turn out too well,” she said. “Last year we graduated nine seniors, including the entire defense, but it turns out that we had great team chemistry. We surprised everyone and ourselves.”
It’s been a good year for Lloyd elsewhere. She was the goalie on the Philly 1 team that claimed the title at the US lacrosse National tournament in late May and helped the PA Express place second in the scholastic division of the Vail Shootout.
Lloyd will join Penn State’s team in 2010 along with three other Philly recruits, including her teammate, Lizzy Carney, Episcopal Academy’s Avery Curley and Hatboro-Horsham’s Lauren Purvis.
Lloyd is eager to compete at a higher level and is especially excited to do it alongside Carney, of whom she says, “We grew up together and have been best friends since childhood. I just can’t believe that now we’re going to play together.”
