News

Actions

Dyer: Sycamore's Thorn shining in lacrosse

Posted at 12:00 PM, May 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-12 12:00:35-04

MONTGOMERY, Ohio – Eva Thorn undoubtedly takes a serious approach to being a Syracuse lacrosse captain this spring.

But, at the time she’s also having plenty of fun during her senior year as the Lady Aves (14-0) wrap up the regular season Friday night before the postseason play starts May 19.

“She is our leader,” said Sycamore coach Eddie Clark, who surpassed 300 career wins this season. “She leads on and off the field. And we can kind of go with her. She gives us the most effort. She scores our most goals. She is the one that makes sure the rest of the team does the right thing all the time.”

Thorn, a midfielder, smiles at the mention of her responsibility. She likes her role in practice and in games but says there is good chemistry all around. Seniors are friends with the freshmen and teammates push each other constructively to improve.

Eva Thorn

“It’s just kind of fun to be encouraging and encourage other people to be leaders too,” Thorn said.

Thorn, a Mercer University signee, has 60 goals and nine assists through 14 games. She is ninth in program history with 144 career points. Seniors Sydney Pattison (143 points, 10th) and Evie Goodyear (137 points, 12th) are close behind.

Mercer coach Samantha Eustace says Thorn has limitless potential at the collegiate level.

“Eva is a talented midfielder with speed and athleticism and we are looking for her to contribute right away,” Eustace said. “She will be a leader on this team and has the character that we want in student-athletes at Mercer. Eva has quick moves and uses her size to her advantage in the midfield.”

Thorn says she really liked the Macon, Georgia campus when she visited. And there is a Cincinnati connection to the Mercer coaching staff, with assistant Sara Kuhlman, who played at Mount Notre Dame and had a standout career at High Point University. She will attend Friday’s Upper Arlington at Sycamore game.

"We expect Eva to be a big presence on our team," Eustace said. "We instill a high-level work ethic with our program here at Mercer University. Eva’s ability to adapt to her competition and rise in challenging situations is exactly what we are looking for in our program."  

Thorn is considering a double major in Spanish and communications and wants to study abroad in college. She has taken six years of Spanish and enjoys learning about other cultures.

“I am really in love with Spanish,” Thorn said. “…I love working and connecting with people and hearing their stories.”

The story this spring has been Sycamore, which was the 2015 state runner-up.

Sycamore, ranked No. 2 in the laxpower.com Midwest and state rankings, plays host to Summit Country Day Thursday night before it hosts No. 1-regional and state ranked Upper Arlington (15-0) at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Lady Aves have met the challenge of a difficult schedule having played five of the top 10 teams in the state.

The Sycamore seniors know what’s at stake this time of the year. The senior class has been to three consecutive state finals, including a state runner-up finish in 2015 and the state champion in 2014.

“I think they are excited,” Clark said. “This senior class has been to the state finals three years in a row so it’s kind of expected, but it’s also kind of like ‘it’s our turn to do our job.’”