Freshman provides spark for Penn women's lacrosse

Like all sports dynasties, Penn women’s lacrosse subsists on strong freshman classes year after year.

As the Quakers hunt for a share of their eighth consecutive Ivy League title, freshman attack Sarah Barcia should help to provide a spark on the offensive side as one of the strongest offensive weapons in her class.

“Sarah creates a lot of movement for us,” coach Karin Brower Corbett said. “She has good awareness of how to create space for herself and not turn the ball over. She’s come up with some big games for us.”

On a team with strong upperclassman leadership, Barcia has found a prominent offensive role as a freshman. Barcia is seventh on the team with a class-leading seven goals and has started three of the Quakers’ 12 contests.

The freshman started out the season strong, scoring on her first collegiate shot against Delaware in Penn’s first game of the season. Two games later, Barcia would struggle to score against Rutgers despite getting three shots on goal.

But instead of letting the game get in her head, Barcia and the coaching staff saw the game as an opportunity to improve.

“She’s someone that’s very coachable, one thing that stood out was when we played Rutgers, she had four quick-sticks right into the goalie’s stick,” Corbett said.

“Then the next game we had, she had three quick-sticks that were perfect, exactly where we said. She really tries to work on the things we talk about, and she learns from each practice and each game.”

Coaching such as that is exactly what it will take to help Barcia and the rest of her freshman class fully adapt to the speed of the college game. However, just as important for these young players is the influence that the upperclassman leadership has been able to provide in easing the transition to college.

“The leadership is great this year,” Barcia said. “Tory Bensen on attack has really taken me under her wing and taught me everything I need to know moving forward.”

For Barcia, it was one of those upperclassmen that helped lead her to Penn.

While in high school, Barcia was teammates with junior defender Meg Markham at Manhasset. Barcia twice served as her team’s captain and led her team to the New York state quarterfinals during her senior year.

“[Markham] totally persuaded me in every single way,” Barcia said. “When I came here on my first visit, I knew this was where I wanted to be.”

As the year winds its way down, this is exactly where the Quakers will want Barcia to be. The freshman adds just one more weapon to an impressive arsenal of offensive weapons for Penn, led by Bensen and sophomores Lely DeSimone and Nina Corcoran.

In the seasons to come, Barcia and the rest of her class will be looked upon to bolster a perennial champion. But until then, the focus is clearly on the present team and the season at hand.

“Definitely the team chemistry and the coaching,” Barcia said, when asked what makes the team distinct. “Karin [Corbett], Melissa [Lehman] and Kerri [Whitaker] are a great coaching staff, I learn something new every day. The team chemistry is unreal.

“This year is really something special.”

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