CLEVELAND -- “Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
When Taylor Pensyl enrolled at the University of Mount Union four years ago, she followed the famous words of Ralph Waldo Emerson and has indeed helped build a trail of success for the Purple Raiders’ lacrosse program, which was new to the school during her freshman season.
But four years later, Pensyl has helped lead the Purple Raiders to their third straight NCAA Division III Tournament after winning last week’s Ohio Athletic Conference Championship.
“Coming in as a new program, we weren’t really expecting much, but this being our third time to the NCAAs, we’re pretty excited and we’re really proud of our girls and all the hard work we’ve gone through to get to where we are now,” Pensyl said.
In her four years with the Purple Raiders, the 5-foot-8 senior midfielder from Kent has totaled 240 points and scored 180 goals, and has gained the reputation as a playmaker for Mount Union.
“Taylor is our entire team,” said fellow senior Katherine “Kat” Doraty. “She says when we need a score, she gives the ball to me, but I say, ‘When we need to score, I give the ball to her.’ If we didn’t have Taylor on our team, we wouldn’t be nearly the team we are today. Offense, defense, midfield, every aspect of the field, we need her on, and she does her part extremely well.”
When starting to build up a program from scratch, Mount Union Coach Emily Fisher went looking for players like Pensyl, who went from a standout player at Kent Roosevelt High School to two-time first-team All-Great Lakes Region and first-team All-OAC performer.
“She is one of the greatest athletes I’ve ever seen,” Fisher said. “She has unbelievable speed. She’s as intelligent as can be. She’s our play-call person on attack. When we need a stop defensively, she is on the field pressuring, getting the ball back.
“It’s very difficult to match her speed. She has unbelievable speed and unbelievable skill. She just kind of leads by example. She works hard everywhere on the field, and whenever we face adversity, she’s the one that sets the stage and sets the tone to get the ball back and to change the momentum.”
The Purple Raiders enter the 2016 NCAA Tournament with a 15-3 overall record, a 7-0 mark in OAC play and winners of their last 10 games, something Pensyl said happened because of their ability to come together as a team.
“I think the bonds on our team are what led us so far in these past four years,” Pensyl said. “If we didn’t care about each other so much and fight for each other as well as Coach, I don’t think we’d make it as far as we have.
“Playing some hard teams early in the season helped us realize the kind of intensity and game we have to play to make it through the season, and I think we peaked late in the season, which was good for us. Usually, we peak pretty early, but we’ve been playing some hard teams at the end of the season and playing our game, so I think that’s helped us.”
After playing four games in the past two NCAA Tournament appearances, Pensyl feels the team is “ready” to make a deep run in the postseason, starting with today’s game against Washington and Lee University.
“I think we’re ready,” Pensyl said. “We’ve been working hard all season. We’ve played some physical games this week and we’re ready for another physical game on Saturday.
“We’ve worked hard to establish the program that we have right now, making it to the NCAAs, winning the OAC. I just hope we leave that impact on the rest of the girls and the program to come.”
