Playing her A game

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications

From someone who once couldn't make her A team to turning into one of the nation's top offensive players in college lacrosse, Allison LaBeau has come a long way.

All she needed was a little confidence.

In high school, LaBeau was cut from her summer program Steps Lacrosse. She never made the A team, but she has certainly played her A game at Lehigh.

"I tried out every year, but I was on the B team my whole time with Steps Lacrosse," said LaBeau.

LaBeau remained under-the-radar, playing in the shadows.

"There's a clear difference in how many college coaches are going to each game," she said. "All the elite coaches are seeing the A teams play, so we would only get a few looks."

LaBeau's chances of catching a college coaches' attention were slimmer, but not zero. As a junior, she took advantage of one opportunity to show her skills against top-level competition.

"One weekend tournament, everyone was split up and everyone was on equal footing," said LaBeau. "Coach Jill (Redfern) saw me at that camp, and she contacted me. I went on a visit the next week and then I ended up committing around two weeks later."

"Alli had a great change of direction," said Lehigh head coach Jill Redfern, who is entering her ninth season in 2017. "She was simply a fun player to watch and a player I believed had terrific upside for the college game."

Part of LaBeau catching Lehigh's eye was the exposure she received in that specific tournament. Another aspect was LaBeau showing a willingness to be more aggressive, which led to increased confidence.
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"I definitely broke out of my shell my junior year," she said. "I was a solid player, but I had never really made myself stand out. I was always pretty humble and my personality was to go with the flow. I didn't want to score more than a few goals because I didn't want to be a ball hog, so I would let other people have chances or start to assist them more."

LaBeau truly began to understand her talent, understanding that she could one day play college lacrosse, all while helping her current team succeed in the process. One of the reasons for her increased aggressiveness was her ability to use both hands.

"I'm a left-handed person, but I'm a righty in lacrosse," said LaBeau. "My dad told me I should start tricking people on the field, lead them to my right then take them left. I really started to do that my junior year. In high school, a lot of people are right-hand dominant, so I think it was an advantage for lefties."

LaBeau's transition to Lehigh was impressive, finishing her freshman season with 38 points, 24 draw controls and 16 groundballs to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Year. A big reason for her success was the confidence instilled in her by the coaching staff.

"I came into Lehigh wanting to work as hard as I could," said LaBeau. "I tried to make the most of my freshman year and make the most of my time on the field. As a freshman, you're playing over some veterans and you want to show you deserve that spot on the field."

LaBeau certainly deserved that spot, taking her freshman-year success and only building upon that success each and every season.

Following her rookie season, LaBeau was invited to try out for the U.S. National Team, which helped set the foundation for increased success.

"Coach told me that I should think about representing the program at tryouts and also progressing my skills to see where I compare against some other top players in Division I," said LaBeau. "It was a struggle for me fitness-wise, and adjusting to the pace of the game. The experience showed me how much room I had to grow. It was intimidating, but I think it helped me become the player I am today."

16233 — LaBeau at U.S. National Team tryouts following freshman year

The player LaBeau has become is one of the nation's most prolific offensive players. She's been an All-Patriot League honoree every season and her 80 points last year was tops in the league, and 18th in the nation, helping her earn the league's Attacker of the Year honors.

The transformation from where LaBeau was in high school didn't happen overnight. It took a lot of hard work.

"As a freshman, Alli realized that she was capable of doing great things and has allowed that to drive her forward," said senior Lauren Beausoleil. "She isn't satisfied with having 'good' practices and always strives to be great. I think people can become content with their game, but Alli is always trying to get better and wants other to follow her work ethic. She not only works hard to improve her skills, but also brings others along with her."

Increased confidence, a reason for LaBeau's emergence in high school, has played a key role in her college success as well.

"If time's ticking down, I want to have the ball in my stick because I have the confidence that I can finish the ball," said LaBeau. "I want to be that person to step up on the field and know my teammates have confidence in me."

This past summer, LaBeau got validation on her improvement when she took part in Team USA tryouts for a second time.

"Fitness-wise, I actually won the 300s test for my attacker group," said LaBeau. "It felt really good because I had improved my fitness over the past couple years. Playing-wise, I could either match the style of play or do something for myself by making a play, assisting someone or catching and shooting off a feed. I felt more confident in my abilities to stand out. I felt like I belonged."

LaBeau took a leap of faith by attending Team USA tryouts as a freshman, understanding she was putting herself in a challenging situation that would test her abilities. LaBeau used the opportunity to learn lessons, which have helped her grow.

"Alli has always been unaffected by errors," said Redfern. "She took great risks as a first-year player. The difference now is that she has put in hours and hours of training to refine her fitness level and her skills. She knows she has the potential to be the best player on the field every game, which provides exceptional confidence to an athlete."

LaBeau's individual increase in confidence has almost mirrored Lehigh women's lacrosse's growth as a program. She is part of a senior class which has helped raise the program's expectations, and results.

"Our progression is a credit to the coaches and the team in general - how hard we've worked and how much we want to win," said LaBeau. "I think it happened last year at Loyola when we took them to overtime. Something in our team soaked in and we realized we're a really good team.

"It took a game like that to prove to ourselves how good of a team we are. We're piggybacking off that and bringing it into this season."

Individually for LaBeau and collectively as a team, one area of progress has been leadership.

"I'm an extension of Coach Sammy (Cermack), who's our offensive coach," said LaBeau. "Whatever she tells me, I have to make sure happens on the field. In order to do that, I have to make sure I'm communicating with my teammates."

"Alli being captain last year has helped her become more vocal and learn a lot about leadership," said Beausoleil, who is one of three co-captains this season, alongside LaBeau and Julianne D'Orazio. "She knows the expectations of the coaches and is an extension of them on the field. Both Julianne and I feel confident to lead the team with Alli. She knows the responsibility and has helped us with our leadership roles as well."

Expectations are high for LaBeau and the Mountain Hawks on the field. They're also high off the field. A Journalism major and Graphic Design minor, LaBeau has garnered tremendous all-around experience at Lehigh.

18119 — LaBeau interns with the Lehigh Athletics multimedia department.

"I don't think I want to be a strict journalist, but I do love the communication aspect where I have to go out and interview people and interact with them," she said. "I also love the video component. It would be really awesome to work within the sports industry in communications or advertising."

A multi-talented individual, LaBeau has the ability to go in many different directions. She has worked as an intern in Lehigh Athletics' multimedia department, and she also completed a Mountaintop project last summer. Everything she's done, on and off the lacrosse field, has helped her garner real-world experiences, and skills that will last a lifetime.

"Lehigh has helped me become a more confident person in all aspects of life," she said. "In college, you need to have great time management. Lehigh definitely challenges its student-athletes. Lehigh helps prepare us for life after college through a really heavy schedule and a really heavy responsibility.

"Lehigh helps you prepare mentally to tackle different tasks with confidence."

All LaBeau needed was a little confidence. From someone who once couldn't make the A team to playing her A game in college lacrosse, she has come a long way.

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Lehigh University Athletics

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse at Navy on April 27, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 19

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse at Lafayette College on April 23, 2025 , Win , 17, to, 16

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse versus Colgate University on April 19, 2025 , Loss , 10, to, 11

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse versus Navy on April 16, 2025 , Loss , 5, to, 21

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse at Holy Cross on April 12, 2025 , Win , 12, to, 10

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse versus Boston University on April 5, 2025 , Win , 15, to, 14

Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse at Loyola University Maryland on March 29, 2025 , Loss , 4, to, 18

Players Mentioned

Lauren Beausoleil

Julianne D'Orazio

Allison LaBeau

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