Maryland women’s lacrosse has chosen midfielder Shaylan Ahearn, defender Abby Bosco and goalkeeper Emily Sterling to be its captains for the 2023 season, coach Cathy Reese announced in a press release Tuesday.
“Abby, Shay and Emily are of course amazing lacrosse players but even better people and leaders,” Reese said in the release. “They earned this distinction from their teammates and we are very excited for them to lead us as we set out to accomplish our goals this season.”
Bosco is a second-year captain for Maryland, while Ahearn and Sterling are first-time selections.
USA Lacrosse Magazine named each of the three players as preseason All-Americans, with Bosco and Sterling on the first team and Ahearn on the second. They also named Bosco and Sterling national defender and goalie of the year respectively.
All three upperclassmen were also named in Inside Lacrosse’s preseason top 50 players in the country, with Bosco taking the third spot, Sterling taking the seventh and Ahearn slotting in at 30.
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“I’m really proud of our upperclassmen leadership so far,” Reese said. “I love their passion. I love their excitement, and they’re bringing the younger ones along, which is exactly what we need.”
Ahearn and Sterling are filling the shoes of Bosco’s co-captains in the 2022 season, Tori Barretta and Grace Griffin. As Ahearn steps into more of a leadership role, she aims to implement things she saw from Griffin, who she played alongside in the midfield.
“Grace was a really good leader, and it was on and off the field. She was a vocal leader, but she was also a leader by example,” Ahearn said prior to the captains being announced. “Being able to be led by her now gives me the opportunity to almost mirror what I saw.”
The No. 2 Terps, led by Ahearn, Bosco and Sterling, kick their season off on Feb. 11 vs. Saint Joseph’s at SECU Stadium.
