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05/25/2017 12:00 AMStephanie Seymour has been a three-sport athlete throughout her time at North Branford High School, and she’s also served as a captain for each one of her teams. A member of the T-Birds’ field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse squads, Stephanie has made a major impact on the North Branford sports scene during the fall, winter, and spring seasons.
“For me, sports are a big part of my life. I wouldn’t be anything without them and they keep my schedule regular and keep me active,” says Stephanie, a senior. “It’s just about being the person that anybody can go talk to. I like to push everyone and get them motivated to work hard throughout practices and games. I like being the leader out there on the field.”
Stephanie believes that she’s grown stronger as a leader while her senior year has unfolded. Stephanie’s leadership has played a heavy hand in the girls’ lacrosse’s team stellar campaign as the T-Birds recently finished their regular season with a record of 13-3.
“For field hockey, I feel like we could’ve gone farther. I needed to be more persistent on my teammates to get them going,” Stephanie says. “For basketball, nobody expected us to do what we did, which gave me the confidence leading into this spring.”
Stephanie suited up at the midfielder’s position in field hockey and was a guard on the basketball court. In terms of lacrosse, North Branford Head Coach Lori Connelly notes how Stephanie makes her presence known all over the field.
“She’s a fierce competitor. She’s always been athletic, but this year, she has a fire to her, which is why she’s turned up the intensity with everything,” says Connelly. “This year, she’s involved with every play, whether it’s fighting for a ground ball, defensively, or offensively. She’s been our most aggressive player this year.”
While she patrols all ends of the turf, Stephanie feels that she thrives the most on the offensive side. Stephanie has accumulated 54 goals with 23 assists throughout her high school lacrosse career, including 26 goals and nine assists this season.
“It’s a great feeling to score or to have an assist. Driving up the score makes it easier for the team to win. Offensively, I feel like I contribute in a lot of ways. Our team has grown so much offensively where we can hit a cutter, drive, do give-and-goes. It’s amazing where we’ve come from,” says Stephanie. “Everybody on offense is able to deliver and score for our team. It comes from a lot of different things. Usually, we play off of [Sydney Hogan], but I usually play with [Emmy Norton and Jessie Kilburn] at the top. We do a lot of draws and dumps, but I can drive if I have the space. It all depends on what the other team is giving us.”
The T-Birds qualified for both the Shoreline Conference and State tournaments this spring. Stephanie competed in the postseason with the field hockey and basketball squads, but this will be her trip to the playoffs in lacrosse.
“It’s an amazing feeling because, in all my four years, we haven’t made it to the Shorelines or states. This year, we secured our spot and it’s really exciting. We honestly have a really great shot at making it to the championship this year and everyone is pumped about it,” says Stephanie. “I feel as a senior, I really want to win for our team. I’ll do anything so we can get the win.”
Stephanie plans on playing lacrosse at the collegiate level. Her decision came down to Southern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University, but in the end, Stephanie says that Southern was the right fit for her.
“Southern is better for me because they have the nursing program there,” says Stephanie. “I feel like I improved from last year, so going into college, I’m more confident in my skills. It’s given me more confidence to go and prove myself on the college field.”