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Villanova commit Amelia Ricciuti shining in senior season
The senior midfielder has racked up 39 goals and 27 assists on the offensive end, while tallying 44 caused turnovers on the defensive side in Ursuline’s 2021 season. (Photo: Ed Gomez/Ursuline Lacrosse/Facebook)

Villanova commit Amelia Ricciuti shining in senior season

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (BVM) — Ursuline lacrosse head coach Joe Frederick didn’t need much of an introduction to Amelia Ricciuti in his first season with the team. The young defenseman had already played a season on the varsity team as an eighth grader before Frederick arrived and it wouldn’t take long for him to notice the impact she already had.

“I knew about her through the youth programs [and] when I was a travel lacrosse coach,” Frederick said. “From the very beginning, she’s been a leader on that team … through her work ethic [and] her example. She’s the first one at the field and the last one to leave the field. It’s hard not to notice that as a coach. It kind of stands out to you.”

The experience of playing on the varsity team early on was important for Ricciuti, who has always had aspirations of playing lacrosse at the collegiate level. Playing against older competition would prove beneficial for the Koalas’ midfielder.

“It kind of gave me a chance to see what my competition is on a larger scale because in college you play all ages,” Ricciuti said. So, it was a chance for me to see what my future would look like if I ended up playing in college and it helped me develop quicker because I had to play against older girls.”

(Photo: Ed Gomez/Ursuline Lacrosse/Facebook)

After initially coming in primarily as a defenseman, Ricciuti has worked to grow her tools on the offensive side, becoming an elite threat with the ball in her stick. With her ability in all facets of the game, her coach associates Ricciuti’s skillset to a baseball player with all five tools.

“Her first year and a half, she was used predominantly on defense,” Frederick said. “Somewhere into her sophomore season we started using her as a midfielder and she has just absolutely blossomed as an offensive threat … I don’t know if there is a weakness in her game. She was recruited to play defense in college [and] there is nothing she can’t do. She plays defense, offense, she does the draw controls, she’s the team leader in ground balls. Just a phenomenal, phenomenal kid.”

The switch to a larger role on offense has led to one of Ricciuti’s most impressive seasons yet. The senior midfielder has racked up 39 goals and 27 assists on the offensive end, while tallying 44 caused turnovers on the defensive side. Her success on the draw has led to staggering numbers, with Ursuline winning 76% of the draws when she is on the field.

The outbreak on both sides is no surprise for her head coach. He sees Ricciuti’s work ethic as a driving force in her success.

“When it comes to athletes, you could be the most talented kid in the world but if you don’t have the drive, you don’t have the desire, it’s wasted,” Frederick said. “What [Amelia] lacks in physical size, she magnifies in her desire. She’s a tactician, she’s a perfectionist, she’s always working on her game … Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Well here’s talent that works hard, so what’s the answer for that? ‘How do you beat that?’” 

(Photo: Ed Gomez/Ursuline Lacrosse/Facebook)

The current 11-3 record posted by Ursuline has the Koalas out to one of their best seasons in program history. After a year off, Ricciuti acknowledges the team’s success can be attributed to the hard work her and her teammates put in during the offseason.

“We were off for like two years … so, it was a chance for us to develop,” Ricciuti said of the layoff. “Going into this season … we didn’t know if people took advantage of the time off and worked hard, or used COVID-19 as an excuse and kind of laid back a little. It was a chance for everybody on the team to get better or get worse, so our team thankfully used it to our advantage and we trained really hard together over Zoom during the time off because we wanted to do well this year.”

When her senior season comes to a close, Ricciuti will continue her lacrosse career at Villanova. After establishing a connection with the school throughout camps over the years, Ricciuti knew the program was the right fit.

“I really love [Coach Julie Young], she’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever been in contact with,” Ricciuti said. “The coaching staff is great and [it’s] also an amazing school. The team when I visited was so welcoming, the campus is beautiful and academically they have a lot of support for athletes.”

When she gets to the collegiate level her high school coach doesn’t want to put a cap on his star senior.

“I honestly think the skys the limit for her,” Frederick said.