Hagge leads offense for women's lacrosse team

Junior women's lacrosse player Willow Hagge's 5'2" frame darts around Kraft Field, clad in a pleated brown kilt and light blue #15 jersey. Knuckles wrapped tightly around her lacrosse stick, the Jumbos' top attacker hunts unrelentingly for scoring opportunities.

From the bench, an army of substitute players cheers for Hagge and her teammates. Aside from those players not in the contest, according to coach Carol Rappoli, a "13th player" sits quietly beneath the bench. Despite her attire -- brown kilt and light blue Tufts jersey -- she does not exactly fit in. This is probably due to her small stature, wet nose, and the furry beige folds of skin that hang around her face.

"Eloise," Hagge's pug, is perhaps the team's most loyal spectator, if not a member of the team in her own right. The dog attends most practices and games.

"She gets really stressed out if she loses me, and we are all dressed the same, so she has a hard time finding me," Hagge said. "She gets kind of frantic, so she'll run the warm up lap with us, and even do some of the sprints we do to get going before games."

Although Eloise belongs to Hagge, coach Rappoli likes to claim the pup is hers.

"Carol is frighteningly in love with the dog," Hagge joked. "Everyone who knows Carol and knows how serious she is about things can't even believe that she allows me to bring Eloise to practice and games."

The well-dressed, team-spirited pug seems to bring her owner -- and the entire squad -- good luck. In only her second season at Tufts, Hagge is currently the Jumbos' leading scorer, with 18 goals and ten assists. Her 28 points doubles that of the next-highest scorer, and is well ahead of where she stood at this point last spring.

"Willow's a good shooter," Rappoli said, "She's able to create things when the play breaks down, and I think she's very creative off the ball and she's always moving in the critical scoring area."

Last year, in her inaugural season, Hagge was the team's top offensive player with 34 points.

"I think that I forget she's only in her second year of college lacrosse, because she's a mature player and we've counted on her from her [first] year to be a scorer," Rappoli said. "It's hard for a first or second year player to shine like that offensively."

At 22, Hagge is one of the team's oldest members. She took a year off between high school and college, and then did not transfer to Tufts, or return to lacrosse, until her sophomore year. Her strong play is especially impressive given the two-year hiatus she took from the game and calls her return to lacrosse "nerve racking."

"I was afraid that I'd reached a peak in high school," said Hagge, whose team made it to the Maine state finals four times.

After losing in the finals during her freshman year, two consecutive championships followed. Expectations were lowered for Hagge's senior season because eight talented players had graduated.

"My dad even bet me his car that we couldn't win the tournament my senior year," Hagge said. "But we came back and barely won. We dug in and it was an amazing game."

Having lost the bet, Mr. Hagge turned the Volkswagen keys over to his daughter, who recalls letting her whole team drive a victory lap. She still relishes the memory, and reflects back on it when her team is struggling, as it has in two recent NESCAC losses.

The Jumbos suffered tough defeats to Trinity and Bowdoin over the last two weeks, but their record still stands at 4-2. Their most recent competition, against Babson College on April 3, featured a dominating Tufts offense that outscored the Beavers 17-5. Hagge, who said she has, "a drive to score goals," netted three in that game.

"I tend to be shooting as soon as I'm in front of the goal," Hagge said. "If I'm really into the game, I've got momentum, I'm probably not thinking that much -- I'm just playing on instinct. I love playing attack."

Hagge exudes passion not only for her position, but also for the game in general.

"Lacrosse is such a fun sport," she said, "It's really fast-paced. You have to have good stick skills and coordination, but it's also about running fast and pushing people and it's aggressive and takes a lot of skill."

Hagge is also a midfielder on the field hockey team, but said that she prefers lacrosse. She would consider coaching either sport in the future, and might be interested in teaching as well. She said that her plans would likely change considering she still has two full years before graduation.

As a student in the combined Museum School program, Hagge will complete her degree in five years. She will remain NCAA eligible for the duration of her time at Tufts because she did not play lacrosse during her freshmen year. Assuming she maintains the high caliber of play shown in her first two years, Hagge's continued presence on the team will be very valuable.

"She's such a dynamic, explosive player," Rappoli said.

According to Hagge she was not always a star. The Portland, Maine native began playing lacrosse when she was in seventh grade, but admits that her game back then was a sight to make eyes sore.

"I was really bad -- actually the worst player on my team," Hagge said. "I would go out and just run around, and I didn't know what I was doing at all. I was kind of oblivious to the fact that I was bad."

Eventually realizing that she, "wanted to be good," Hagge began to work hard at lacrosse. She picked up new skills and mastered old ones, developing into one of the strongest players on her team by the time she reached high school.

According to her coach, Hagge has continued to work intensely for the steady improvements she has made.

"She's never satisfied with her level of play," Rappoli said. "She's always looking to go out early and shoot or learn more tricks with her stick."

While Hagge certainly earns her success through sweat and soreness, she is also a natural player, gifted with the qualities that her position calls for.

"Willow's got good stick, good shot, and she's fast," Rappoli said. "Like all good attackers, she's never seen a shot she didn't like."

"And she's a maniac," Rappoli said, smiling. "Because she's from Maine."