CMSV’s prolific scorer poised for a career in nursing
BRONX, N.Y. (BVM) — For Morgan Pavlik, nursing has always been the goal. She can take her focus from being a primary scorer on the women’s lacrosse team to her final year as a nursing student.
In the College of Mount Saint Vincent’s (CMSV) shortened women’s lacrosse season, the 5-foot-5 senior attacker scored five goals and had two assists in the Dolphins three game season.
“I’m upset we may not have a season, but I’m excited I can actually start working because nursing was so hard,” Pavlik said.
To be a nursing student is no easy task, especially for student-athletes. Despite all the pressures of being a nursing student, Pavlik’s positive thinking gives her ways to maneuver through the grind.
“I’m so used to having a team and it’s a good outlet from studying breaks or stress,” Pavlik said. “Even if the coach is in a bad mood we would still hang out together and it would be a stress free environment.”
Sports are usually a focal point for student athletes, but for this nursing student, lacrosse is the therapy.
“I just like being with everyone and having that team camaraderie… playing is great because I’m extraordinarily competitive with everything,” Pavlik said. “It’s like a sense of home for me.”
Home means a lot to out-of-state students, especially when enduring the hardships of college. In her hometown in Connecticut, Pavlik was once a top student and a three-sport athlete during her time in high school.
“I feel like Connecticut is so small and there’s nothing to do here, really, and I really wanted to branch out to other areas,” Pavlik said. “Plus, New York was always so hyped up.”
For Morgan, the college experience had to challenge her. It was about seeing a new world and maintaining that same passion to succeed on the field and in the classroom.
“The city is so fun and so cool and they have bars, I have never seen a bar before,” Pavlik said. “I just really wanted a city feel… I feel like people in the city do things so differently and I can feel that especially being in the Bronx now and living on campus.”
Pavlik originally played for Mount Saint Mary’s women’s lacrosse team before she transferred to Mount Saint Vincent her sophomore year. Like her time in high school, Pavlik felt comfortable playing soccer as a way to integrate herself within the community.
“When I transferred here, it kind of sucked because freshman year is when you make all of your friends, but when I transferred, it felt like people had to like me because I was on the team,” Pavlik said. “So, when I came, I joined soccer and it was really fun.”
After becoming acclimated to her new friends and surroundings, Pavlik would eventually join the women’s lacrosse team after getting a job at the student relations office. Despite leaving behind the soccer team, the CMSV senior made the most of her time, which included meeting future teammates.
“It was kind of crazy because I met my friend Grace [Barry], through soccer and my other friend Caitlyn [Elia], was working for athletics, so we became close and then were all nursing majors so we just plan out our days together,” Pavlik said. “It was really nice because they helped keep me organized and they always keep me up with certain stuff, at random times. It works because we all overlap our schedules.”
The 5-foot-5 attacker enjoys the busy schedule and aside from admitting she’s, ‘crazy OCD,’ she enjoys being busy and planning out her calendar.
One of the main goals for Pavlik was to cement her legacy in the CMSV record books. Even though there may not be a spring season, the senior attacker managed to break a record her first year on the lacrosse team with the Dolphins.
“I accidentally did that my first year playing lacrosse by breaking the draw control record,” Pavlik said. “I didn’t even know that was a thing, nor had taken the draws before, so I kind of did that without knowing.”
As a freshman at Mount Saint Mary’s, Pavlik had 12 starts, scoring 19 points with five assists and 22 draw controls. In her first year on the lacrosse team at CMSV, Pavlik had a record high 74 draw controls, scoring 23 points with two assists during her 10 starts.
“I wanted to focus on offensive stats this year but not scoring,” Pavlik said. “I want to fix that and maybe get more assists so my teammates can score.”
As good as she is offensively, Pavlik is still learning a lot about the game and enjoys putting in the work to get better. If there is no season in the spring, Pavlik is content with putting her best efforts into becoming a nurse. If there is a season, Pavlik has a plan for that too.
