Even though her lacrosse season was cut short, Saint Lawrence defensive midfielder and Kingswood Oxford alumni Abby Eberle ’18 is creating a name for herself on her team.
Eberle attended all four years at the KO Upper School. She became an integral part of the girls soccer and lacrosse teams, becoming a captain on both teams. “I loved playing soccer and lacrosse,” Eberle said. “I miss the themed practices, the coaches, and my teammates.” During her time at Kingswood Oxford, Eberle helped the girls soccer team reach the quarter-finals and rank second in the NEPSAC. As for lacrosse, Eberle helped lead the team to a winning season and mentored many of the younger players.
Eberle is currently a sophomore at Saint Lawrence University, a Division III school. Eberle started her recruitment process early, during her freshman year. “I started early to decide whether I wanted to play DI or DIII,” Eberle said. “I chose DIII because it allowed me to balance academics and sports as well as have opportunities to pursue extracurriculars.” Eberle began playing on club teams during her freshman year at KO. She would attend tournaments with her teams to get exposure to college recruiters. As she moved into her later years of high school, she became a central player on the girls lacrosse team. She ended up catching the eyes of the recruiter at Saint Lawrence. After attending a players showcase at Saint Lawrence, Eberle knew she wanted to go there in the fall.
The transition to college wasn’t very difficult for Eberle. “KO prepared me well for college,” Eberle said, “and my new teammates were very helpful with moving me into my dorm and helping me get settled in.” As the fall semester began, Eberle attended her first captain’s practice. In addition, Saint Lawrence had a brief fall ball season that the team took part in. The actual season began in January. Practices were two or three hours long with a lift at least three times a week. When the team wasn’t practicing, they were either watching film or scrimmaging other teams. “The practices were a lot at first,” Eberle said, “but I quickly got used to them.” In addition, the team would also participate in physical fitness tests. These tests were either in the weight room or out on the field running. “I quickly found out that the offseason was just as important as the actual season if we wanted to succeed on the field,” Eberle said.
During her freshman season at Saint Lawrence, Eberle was continuing to settle in and build confidence playing at the college level. On her team’s spring break trip to Florida, Saint Lawrence ended up scrimmaging Hamilton. Over the course of the game, Eberle ended up scoring a hat trick. “It was a big confidence booster for me,” Eberle said. “I showed myself and my team that I could play alongside them.” During her sophomore year season, Saint Lawrence was only able to play one official game. The game was against Endicott College, and Eberle ended up playing against her old teammate and friend at Kingswood Oxford, midfielder Julia Lanteri ’18. “It was really fun to guard her on defense,” Eberle said. “It was like we were back scrimmaging against each other at a KO practice.”
As for her future, Eberle is majoring in mathematics with a double minor in statistics and public health. In addition, Eberle is currently enrolled in the Airforce program offered at Saint Lawrence. After college, Eberle is obligated to join the Airforce for at least four years. “I’m not sure if I want to make the Airforce my career,” Eberle said. “I really wanted to combine my math major with public health.” Overall, Eberle is excited to see where her academic and athletic careers will take her, and she can’t wait for the chance to get out on the field with her team again.
