Speights leading the charge of Millersville’s upstart season
4/17/2019 12:14:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse, Features
Millersville, Pa. – The Millersville University women's lacrosse team was locked in a back-and-forth battle on the road at No. 25 Bloomsburg on March 23. With just 40 second remaining in the game, Genevieve Speights accepted a pass from Sara Burney and fired the ball into the back of the net to give the Marauders a 9-8 lead they would not surrender. It was Millersville's first road win against a nationally-ranked opponent in the last 11 seasons and was the first of four-straight victories for the Marauders.
Millersville would eventually go on to hold a 5-1 record in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play--its best start in conference play in the 21st century. Prior to the start of the season, the Marauders were picked to finish eighth in the PSAC preseason poll and miss the postseason.
Millersville is currently in a five-way tie for third place, with the top six teams earning a PSAC Tournament berth, and holds a record of 8-6, including a 6-3 mark in conference play. The Marauders have already won more PSAC games than in their previous two seasons and have a chance to break the program record for PSAC wins in a season, seven, which was set the last year the team made the playoffs, 2016.
"Everyone on this team wants to make it to PSACs," Speights said. "I love the culture this team has and it will be very exciting when we do make it to PSACs."
Speights has been one of the key pieces to Millersville's strong season. She has contributed all over the midfield and leads the team in points (43) and draw controls (52), is tied for the team lead in goals (32), tied for second in assists (11), is fifth in ground balls (31), tied for fifth in caused turnovers (11) and boasts a shooting percentage of .485. She is also 10th in the PSAC in draw controls per game (3.7).
Her strong 2019 season comes after an impressive freshman campaign last year. In 2018, Speights led all Marauder freshmen in goals (26), points (28) and ground balls (24). She appeared in all 17 games, earning a start in seven of the final nine, and ranked third on the team in draw controls (40) and fourth in caused turnovers (15). The highlight of Speights' first year was her five-goal performance in Millersville's 26-15 win over Gannon on April 21.
First-year head coach Cindy Wilson was immediately impressed with Speights' skills on the field as well as her demeanor.
"She's a true midfielder who can play on both ends and is great on the draw," she said. "Genevieve is a really hard worker and has a great lacrosse IQ. She is a fun player to coach and she always wants to go out there and compete."
Speights is the youngest in a clan of lacrosse players, as all three of her older brothers played the sport long before she ever picked up a lacrosse stick. Matt, her oldest brother, played on the club team at James Madison University and Zach, her second-oldest brother, played at York College.
"I grew up watching them play all the time," Speights said. "My parents encouraged me to try it and I started playing around fourth grade. I picked up on what they were doing and it made me tough."
Lacrosse was one of three sports Speights participated in while in high school. She also played volleyball and ran cross country, the latter helped her build up her endurance for running in the midfield once lacrosse season started. Speights also spent her summers as a member of the York Invaders club team.
Off the field she volunteered her time with community service through her high school, working in both child care and senior aid. She would spend time with kids that were staying at the daycare in her high school and created lesson plans to go over with them. Although she spoke differently to the children than she would to her teammates, Speights said that it gave her valuable experience in a leadership role, something that she hopes to continue to bring onto the field and into the locker room.
"I want to set a standard for the next players that come in after me," Speights said. "I want them to look up to my class and look up to the accomplishments we have made so far. We beat IUP for the first time in 10 years this season and I want them to look up to that and keep things rolling and not let them beat us for 10 years."
She also hopes to continue to be a part of the culture of her team which she believes has been one of the biggest reasons Millersville has been so successful this season.
"The culture of this team has only gotten better since I've been here," Speights said. "Everyone is contributing this year and we're there to make our teammates look better. We've won games that we came into a little nervous about, like Bloomsburg and IUP. We knew those were going to be tough games, but we came out in full force and won both. Coach Wilson and coach Amy also bring a lot of positivity which helps."
Wilson believes that Speights has been a key part of the Marauders' culture both on and off the field, and that her personality contributes to it as much as her skills and it makes her a very coachable player.
"It takes everybody on the team to buy into a good team culture, but she is somebody that believes in it and exhibits it," Wilson said. "When you have somebody that makes big plays on the field and knows that off the field communication is also very important, that helps everybody buy into the culture and build on it.
"She comes ready to go and is somebody that is personable and connects with her teammates really well. Genevieve gets down to business and understands that we're here to accomplish something, which can be rare in student-athletes. She's a lot of fun to coach because she has a great personality and as an athlete wants to get better and wants the team to get better. It's a great combination of qualities."
While Speights has already made her presence felt at Millersville, Wilson believes her star midfielder can accomplish even more during her upperclassmen years with the team.
"She has a great foundation and has been very successful on the field, but I think there is still a lot more potential to unlock with her," she said. "Genevieve hasn't reached her ceiling yet and we'll continue to push her limits."
The Marauders continue their playoff push when they travel to Gannon on Saturday, April 20 for a 10 a.m., game. With five teams tied in the standings and vying for four playoff spots Millersville needs every win it can get in order to earn a PSAC Tournament berth. It will face a Golden Knights team that is 2-11 this season, including 0-9 in conference play.
Millersville would eventually go on to hold a 5-1 record in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play--its best start in conference play in the 21st century. Prior to the start of the season, the Marauders were picked to finish eighth in the PSAC preseason poll and miss the postseason.
Millersville is currently in a five-way tie for third place, with the top six teams earning a PSAC Tournament berth, and holds a record of 8-6, including a 6-3 mark in conference play. The Marauders have already won more PSAC games than in their previous two seasons and have a chance to break the program record for PSAC wins in a season, seven, which was set the last year the team made the playoffs, 2016.
"Everyone on this team wants to make it to PSACs," Speights said. "I love the culture this team has and it will be very exciting when we do make it to PSACs."
Speights has been one of the key pieces to Millersville's strong season. She has contributed all over the midfield and leads the team in points (43) and draw controls (52), is tied for the team lead in goals (32), tied for second in assists (11), is fifth in ground balls (31), tied for fifth in caused turnovers (11) and boasts a shooting percentage of .485. She is also 10th in the PSAC in draw controls per game (3.7).
Her strong 2019 season comes after an impressive freshman campaign last year. In 2018, Speights led all Marauder freshmen in goals (26), points (28) and ground balls (24). She appeared in all 17 games, earning a start in seven of the final nine, and ranked third on the team in draw controls (40) and fourth in caused turnovers (15). The highlight of Speights' first year was her five-goal performance in Millersville's 26-15 win over Gannon on April 21.
First-year head coach Cindy Wilson was immediately impressed with Speights' skills on the field as well as her demeanor.
"She's a true midfielder who can play on both ends and is great on the draw," she said. "Genevieve is a really hard worker and has a great lacrosse IQ. She is a fun player to coach and she always wants to go out there and compete."
Speights is the youngest in a clan of lacrosse players, as all three of her older brothers played the sport long before she ever picked up a lacrosse stick. Matt, her oldest brother, played on the club team at James Madison University and Zach, her second-oldest brother, played at York College.
"I grew up watching them play all the time," Speights said. "My parents encouraged me to try it and I started playing around fourth grade. I picked up on what they were doing and it made me tough."
Lacrosse was one of three sports Speights participated in while in high school. She also played volleyball and ran cross country, the latter helped her build up her endurance for running in the midfield once lacrosse season started. Speights also spent her summers as a member of the York Invaders club team.
Off the field she volunteered her time with community service through her high school, working in both child care and senior aid. She would spend time with kids that were staying at the daycare in her high school and created lesson plans to go over with them. Although she spoke differently to the children than she would to her teammates, Speights said that it gave her valuable experience in a leadership role, something that she hopes to continue to bring onto the field and into the locker room.
"I want to set a standard for the next players that come in after me," Speights said. "I want them to look up to my class and look up to the accomplishments we have made so far. We beat IUP for the first time in 10 years this season and I want them to look up to that and keep things rolling and not let them beat us for 10 years."
She also hopes to continue to be a part of the culture of her team which she believes has been one of the biggest reasons Millersville has been so successful this season.
"The culture of this team has only gotten better since I've been here," Speights said. "Everyone is contributing this year and we're there to make our teammates look better. We've won games that we came into a little nervous about, like Bloomsburg and IUP. We knew those were going to be tough games, but we came out in full force and won both. Coach Wilson and coach Amy also bring a lot of positivity which helps."
Wilson believes that Speights has been a key part of the Marauders' culture both on and off the field, and that her personality contributes to it as much as her skills and it makes her a very coachable player.
"It takes everybody on the team to buy into a good team culture, but she is somebody that believes in it and exhibits it," Wilson said. "When you have somebody that makes big plays on the field and knows that off the field communication is also very important, that helps everybody buy into the culture and build on it.
"She comes ready to go and is somebody that is personable and connects with her teammates really well. Genevieve gets down to business and understands that we're here to accomplish something, which can be rare in student-athletes. She's a lot of fun to coach because she has a great personality and as an athlete wants to get better and wants the team to get better. It's a great combination of qualities."
While Speights has already made her presence felt at Millersville, Wilson believes her star midfielder can accomplish even more during her upperclassmen years with the team.
"She has a great foundation and has been very successful on the field, but I think there is still a lot more potential to unlock with her," she said. "Genevieve hasn't reached her ceiling yet and we'll continue to push her limits."
The Marauders continue their playoff push when they travel to Gannon on Saturday, April 20 for a 10 a.m., game. With five teams tied in the standings and vying for four playoff spots Millersville needs every win it can get in order to earn a PSAC Tournament berth. It will face a Golden Knights team that is 2-11 this season, including 0-9 in conference play.
Players Mentioned
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