By Molly Tow
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/2/11
North Penn rising senior attack Rachel Shaw has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at Old Dominion University.
Shaw collected 56 goals, 25 assists, 51 draw controls and 21 ground balls in 2011, earning First Team Suburban One Continental honors while helping North Penn (18-2) claim its fifth straight league title.
Shaw played in the national tournament and received offensive MVP awards at both the Philly Showcase last November and for North Penn this year.
Shaw, an Honor Roll student, plans to major in Early Education at ODU.
“It was the perfect campus for me,” Shaw said. “It was more suburban, more beach-like, and everything I could hope for.”
The first advocate of Old Dominion’s lacrosse program was North Penn alum Kirkland Lewis, a rising junior midfielder for the Lady Monarchs.
“I talked to her during the North Penn alumni game, and she made [Old Dominion] seem like a college that would be good for me and a place that I wanted to go,” Shaw said.
Another North Penn rising senior, attack Brenda McDermott, has committed to Temple.
Looking back on the 2011 season, Shaw is proud of her team’s ability to constantly work and improve together despite its youth.
“This past season was a big learning season for our team,” Shaw said. “We lost a lot of seniors the year before, so we were rebuilding a lot, but we were successfully able to do that and have a great season.”
For the 2012 season, Shaw’s expectations are high.
“Our goals for next season are to make it farther than any other North Penn team, to go far in the states tournament, and have a fourth consecutive undefeated league team,” she said.
