Although it may have seemed like an overnight success, Eagles coach Tim Godby said it was a slower, more deliberate climb.
“If this was 2005, and you told me in nine years, we’d be in the national top 10, I would have said there’s no way. That’s not something we planned,” Godby said. “At the time, we just wanted to be the best in Georgia.”
Around that time, a group of lacrosse parents asked Godby, a basketball coach with no lacrosse experience, to take over the varsity program in Milton, an affluent community about 30 miles north of Atlanta. A healthy local youth lacrosse organization was churning out dozens of girls eager to play at the high school level, among them the nine 2013 seniors who played together since seventh grade. That familiarity bred a cohesiveness and chemistry on the field — especially for Ruland, the Nike/ US Lacrosse South Region Player of the Year with 77 goals and 54 assists, and Northwestern-bound attacker Lydia Cassada (67 goals, 22 assists). “It was like playing with LeBron James and Kobe Bryant on the lacrosse field,” senior goalie Caroline Youngs said. Cassada’s long history with Ruland translated to some great lacrosse. “We learned lacrosse together. Playing our last year, we really came together on give-and-gos and all that stuff,” Cassada said. “Annie’s such an amazing player. It was so great to play with her for six or seven years.” Youngs was among the throngs of players who advanced from Milton’s youth lacrosse program with dreams of making the Eagles’ varsity squad. About 50 to 60 girls typically try out each year. Originally a field player, Youngs was asked to try goalie as a sophomore. She logged two years as a backup before her breakout senior season that included a lights-out performance against McDonogh and an overall .620 save percentage. “If it wasn’t for her play, we wouldn’t have been able to win,” Godby said. While Cassada and Ruland were lighting up the offense, Milton also boasted a trio of future Division I players navigating an intricate defensive system — Melissa Teel (Richmond), Kristen Ridenour (Jacksonville) and Gina Davis (Presbyterian). The Eagles held opponents to an average of 7.51 goals per game. “We’ve put in multiple defensive sets. Because they’re smart and athletic,
A Publication of US Lacrosse
have experience, communicate well and play well together, we were able to do different things,” Godby said. “They’re able to disrupt other teams’ offenses.” Even with the departure of its top players, Milton’s 2014 edition will return plenty of talent, including juniors Hannah Davis and Mackenzie Lech. That’s not to mention the underclassmen that are poised to keep the Eagles in the national conversation. “The girls coming up are incredible,”
Youngs said. “It makes me excited for the future to see what’s going to happen.” Youngs also wants to see what her teammates will do at the Division I level.
Milton’s Lydia Cassada (left) is Northwestern’s first recruit from Georgia. Annie Ruland is headed to USC.
Cassada, Northwestern’s first recruit from Georgia, has speed, strong stick skills and a go-to-goal mentality. “Lydia Cassada is a fantastic athlete.
Watching her develop over her high school career has been exciting,” Wildcats coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “We are very excited for Lydia to join us this fall.”
“It was like playing with
LeBron James and Kobe Bryant on the lacrosse field.”
— Milton senior goalie Caroline Youngs on Cassada and Ruland
Ruland is a second-generation NCAA lacrosse player; her father, Mike, played for UMBC and won an NCAA Division II title with the Retrievers in 1980. But she’s proud of growing up in a non-traditional lacrosse area like Georgia. She wanted to stick with that pioneering spirit in college. That’s why she chose USC, a Division I program in its second year on the West Coast. “My dad won a national championship at UMBC. I feel like that’s already been done in my family. To go to a top-10 school and win a national championship, it would be expected there,” Ruland said. “How cool would it be to go to a new program and fight and claw our way to the top and win?” Spoken like a true trailblazer. LM
August 2013 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 33
©CECIL COPELAND
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