Governor's Teams
Athletics at The Governor’s Academy is about outstanding performance- as our championship titles, college NCAA scholarship players, and world competitors will attest- but it is also about character.
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Team Profile
Lacrosse - Girls Varsity
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ISL Champions:
2024 ISL Runner-Up
2023 ISL Runner-Up
2017 ISL Runner-Up
2016 ISL Co-Champions
The Governor's Academy’s Girls Varsity Lacrosse program continues a long tradition of excellence, competing against some of the strongest teams in New England. In addition to providing a positive team experience for all involved, the coaches’ goals include teaching athletes the skills and concepts necessary to take their game to the next level. With an emphasis on teamwork, goal setting, and physical fitness, a single season or four-year high school career on the Girls Varsity Lacrosse team prepares student-athletes for life beyond Byfield. Players eager to compete collegiately are provided with support from their coaches and a network of college connections.
A 100 x 120-yard all-weather turf, the Alfond Class of 1967 Turf Field provides an outstanding venue for both games and practices. The team’s newly renovated locker room offers ample space for pre-game preparation, film review, and team meetings. Athletes also utilize the Alfond Fitness Center & Weight Room and Pescosolido Field House for lifting, speed training, and out-of-season stick skills practice. Staffed by two full-time athletic trainers, the sports medicine facility provides personalized attention and rehabilitation for those who need attention to injuries.
The team often travels to warmer climates over March Break for training and team cohesion. Most recently, the team visited Hilton Head, South Carolina to hone defensive systems and offensive sets and to spend time bonding off the field through cooking team meals and playing beach lacrosse together. Upon their return to campus, the regular season begins with games primarily played every Wednesday and Saturday until mid-May. Govs competes in one of the most challenging high school lacrosse leagues in the country–the Independent School League (ISL). In addition to playing the twelve other ISL programs, Govs matches up against the New England perennial powerhouses of Phillips Andover, Phillips Exeter, and St. Paul’s.
With such a busy athletic and academic schedule in the spring, Governor’s coaches and captains foster a mentality of “one game at a time” to maintain focus on the present. The team works with a sports psychologist to build confidence individually and collectively through positive visualization techniques. The Governor’s Boys and Girls Varsity Lacrosse teams come together for a “One Love” weekend event of games and fundraisers to promote healthy relationships.
A number of players have received individual league honors for their play during their careers at Govs including numerous All-American, Academic All-American, All-NEPSAC honors, and all-ISL league selections. After high school, many players have gone on to play for some of the country’s top Division I and Division III programs at schools such as Boston College, Bowdoin College, Duke University, Harvard University, University of Maryland, and Union College among others.
For more information, please reach out to Head Coach Roberta McLain.
Alums in Action:
Callie Batchelder ‘23 – Harvard University
Maeve Faigel ‘23 – Vassar College
Katie Prinn ‘23 – Wheaton College
Phoebe Ross ‘23 – Skidmore College
Ashley Suppa ‘23 – Duquesne University
Meghan Cole '22 – Colgate University
Emily Moore '22 – Union College
Kate Colvin '21 – Hobart & William Smith College
Tess DiNanno '21 – Hartwick College
Mia Mangin '21 – Virginia Tech
Cara Nugent '21 – Northwestern University
Dani Aftandilian '20 – St. Lawrence University
Caroline James '20 – Kenyon College
Cassie Reinertson '20 – Boston University
Rory McPherson '19 – Coast Guard Academy
Steph Tamasi '19 – Connecticut College
Lauren Hayes '18 – Merrimack College
Sarah Moore '18 – Hamilton College
Alaina Burgess '17 – Manhattan College
Erin Daly '17 – University of Michigan
Rachael Deptula '17 – Bates College
Courtney Pierre '17 – Hamilton College
Robyn Pirie '17 – Colby College
Sophia Madsen '16 – University of Richmond
Becca Block '09 – Syracuse University '13; USA National Team; Harvard University Assistant Coach
Kayla O'Connor '13– Boston College '17; Baltimore Braves Professional Lacrosse Team
Coaches
Coach Profiles
Head Coach: Bert McLain
A four-year lacrosse player and senior year captain at Union College, Bert McLain began her career in independent schools at Kimball Union Academy where she was the inaugural Girls Varsity Ice Hockey coach Arriving at Govs in 1998, McLain was drawn to the multi-faceted role of teaching, coaching, and supporting students in a quaint, coastal location with ample outdoor access. In her twenty-five years at the Academy, she has served as Athletic Director for nineteen years; coached soccer, hockey, lacrosse, and alpine skiing; and taught everything from AP psychology to forensics, human anatomy and physiology to animal behavior. A firm believer in the benefits of team culture and leadership skills, McLain appreciates the type of student-athlete Govs attracts and the opportunity to develop multi-sport athletes at the Academy. McLain was inducted into the New England Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Massachusetts Lacrosse Hall of Fame. She remains active at the national level as a representative to US Lacrosse.
Assistant Coach: Amy Block ‘06
Amy Block returned to her alma mater in 2012, magnetized by the relationships she formed as a student and the possibility of building a career in education. An Academic All-American and captain of the 2006 Governor’s Girls Varsity Lacrosse team, Block attended Union College and competed for the soccer, lacrosse, and indoor track teams. She values the outstanding people and place she is surrounded by as mathematics department chair, mathematics teacher, dorm head, and advisor in beautiful Byfield. In assisting with the Girls Varsity Lacrosse program, Block looks forward to developing each player’s individual skills and supporting the team’s collective goal alongside her former high school coach.
Assistant Coach: Anna Marchand
Assistant Coach: Cayla Liptak