Molly Laliberty still has her mind on the final game of last year’s lacrosse season. Down 14–10 with six minutes left against Salisbury for the Division III national championship, Tufts surged back but still fell just short, losing 14–13. Laliberty played well, but she could have played better. She could have stepped up and taken Tufts to the promised land; at least, that's what she kept telling herself while watching the College Football National Championship.
It's difficult to get into the mind of a perfectionist and lifelong winner. Rarely does an athlete accomplish as much between the pipes as senior goalkeeper Laliberty has during her tenure on the Tufts women’s lacrosse team. Hailing from Newburyport High School, where she shined as both an athlete and student, earning class salutatorian along with a number of lacrosse accolades. Laliberty took her talents to Tufts University in 2019. During her freshman season, when Tufts won 19 games, she started in only two but accompanied the squad to the final four.Her 2020 season was cut short by the pandemic, which restricted her to three starts, yet she still managed to win NESCAC Player of the Week.
Laliberty took the time off to train and prepare for her junior season where she led Tufts to an undefeated regular season, its first NESCAC championship in program history and a national championship runner up. Laliberty then graced USA Lacrosse Magazine as the USA Lacrosse Division III Women’s Preseason Goalie of the Year as well as the Preseason Player of the Year. Now, as her final season at Tufts draws to a close, Laliberty has one mountain left to climb: taking home gold at the national championship. With Tufts ranked number two among their peers, the expectations have never been higher, but Laliberty looks at those external pressures with optimism.
“If you focus on the end goal, instead of the process, the process gets lost and that's really the important part, so I try to just think of [the end goal] as motivation,” Laliberty said.
Laliberty is no stranger to hard work; in fact, she welcomes it as a companion on her athletic journey. In high school Laliberty had a strict sleep schedule and woke up early. While she’s dialed down her dedication to the REM cycle, she's made sure to lock in mentally and physically by the time the season starts. Over winter break, Laliberty has been trying to get as much lacrosse in as possible.
“I'm a big proponent of working hard outside of practice, and I think that's how I'll see the best results that I want so I've really just been trying to get as much lacrosse as I can,” Laliberty said.
As a goalie, Laliberty has excelled in communicating on the field — and off. Her willingness to say what needs to be said may be due in part to her background in slam poetry. When asked if Laliberty ever performed poetry in the locker room, senior teammate andfirst team preseason all-American Anna Clarke noted that Laliberty chooses to channel her energy into her pregame routine and dances.
“One of the first things I learned about her was that she did slam poetry. I wouldn't say she does slam poetry, but she definitely gets into our pregame dance parties, which I feel like gets everyone hyped up,” Clarke said.
Clarke also pointed out that Laliberty’s confidence and leadership have inspired younger players to emulate her dedication to the sport, team and program. In terms of her skill development and success at Tufts, Molly attributes that mostly to one person.
“Our head coach Courtney Shute. She's a phenomenal coach and you know I think she was one of the top reasons that I came to Tufts and I am happy that I did every day because of the coach that she is and the way she runs this team,” Laliberty said.
Laliberty, like most lacrosse goalies, has quirks and superstitions that require ritual performance before every game. Crafting the perfect turkey sandwich, devouring a bag of Cape Cod potato chips, transcribing the practice or game plan on a sticky note, writing a message to herself on her wrist and taking a breath of her inhaler. These habits have clearly worked, so why question them?
The preparation Laliberty has done throughout her career has all led up to this season. Now it is time to go for broke. Laliberty has the chance to solidify her legacy at Tufts and bring the first ever women’s DIII lacrosse national championship trophy to Bello Field.
