When she was in the first-grade, her father came home with two lacrosse sticks from a huge sale at a sporting goods store, and from there Ava Vasile found a passion for the sport.
“We went out back to play catch, but I was so bad, I dropped every single ball. I felt so bad for him, it must have been frustrating as I was so god awful,” Vasile said. “Growing up, I was a tom boy and was always interested in trying new things.”
Living in Milford, she joined the Milford Youth Lacrosse League and began her ascent upon the lacrosse ladder. Vasile would play in the Milford league up until the sixth grade; the following year, Milford didn’t have enough kids, so they formed a co-op with Medway.
When it came time for high school, Vasile applied for an open spot at Medway through School Choice and was chosen to attend the school. It was tough for her mother at first, because she was the one driving her daughter to school every day.
“I decided on Medway as I was looking for a more of an academic challenge as well as taking part in a better sports program,” she said. “I knew that I wanted to play college sports and thought that Medway gave me a better chance to accomplish that.”
Although she knew a lot of the girls from her youth team as well as her club team (Storm Lax), Vasile was still rather nervous during the Medway High School lacrosse tryouts.
“I was very nervous at first,” she said. “Meeting a new team, trying to fit in and have the other girls like you.”
It wasn’t long before the Mustang athletes had accepted the midfielder.
“Ava takes the draws for us, and is so fast that she can take it right down the field and score,” Medway Coach Cassandra McGill said. “I’m glad that I don’t have to defend her as an opposing coach. Her biggest strength is her speed, as well as being a very versatile athlete.”
The senior has been playing for the Medway varsity team for four years, the last three for Coach McGill. During her first three years, Vasile has had 625 draw controls, including 134 alone last year. The next closest athlete to her had 25. Vasile has also racked up 160 goals and 52 assists with her 100th goal coming in the tournament during her sophomore campaign.
Vasile gravitated toward midfielder ,because she enjoys running and the position allowed her to do just that, run.
“I love playing attack and scoring, but I also love the ability to play defense as well. I’m an aggressive person on the field and love pushing people around; it’s like beating someone up without the consequences,” she said. “Running allows me to get my energy out. If I’m at home, I can’t sit still and need to run around the house.”
With all that pent-up energy, Vasile decided to join the track team to work on her speed to make her that much more dangerous on the field. Having never run in an organized fashion, the Milford native soon found out she was successful on the track level as well as on the lacrosse field.
“She is something else,” Medway Track Coach Andrew Nassiff said. “By the end of her freshman year, she had taken four seconds off her 300-meter time, and through the years she just keeps getting better. Her junior year, she won everything and helped us to our first (Tri Valley) League Championship in decades.”
This past season, she participated in the Nationals running the 300, 400 (finished 8th), 800 and Sprint Medley. She has also won the State pentathlon and is 10th in Massachusetts. Last year, she was the New England Champion in the 55 meter hurdles and was second in the states in the 300. Not bad for a sport she took up to help her speed in lacrosse.
Not to be outdone on the lacrosse field, Vasile was named a top ten All Star in the TVL and last year was the Small Division’s Player of the Year in the TVL.
While Vasile seems to have a grasp on just about everything, McGill wants her star midfielder to do more.
“She’s a phenomenal athlete, but I’m looking for her to know when to take it to the goal and when to dish it,” the lacrosse coach said. “I think she puts a lot of pressure on herself as the go to person. If you tell her to take the ball and score nine out of 10 times she will; one on one she can beat anyone.”
As she enters her final season with Medway, Vassile has already committed to play at the University of Vermont next year. The senior had looked into a couple of schools that included the likes of the University of Albany, UNH, UMASS and UCONN as well as Vermont.
“It was down to Vermont and UCONN,” she said. “I loved the Vermont campus and the girls on the team. It felt warm and welcoming, unlike some of the other schools.”
Vasile is hoping that in her final season with the Mustangs that she can help lead the team into the Division 2 East Tournament and get past that dreaded second round. Each of the past two seasons, Medway was sent home in the Quarter Finals. Last year Groton Dunstable ended Medway’s season and the year before it was the eventual Division 2 East Champion Walpole.
Issue Date:
May, 2019
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