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07/19/2018 12:00 AMMackenzie Larson knew that this year marked her last chance to display her skills as a goalie for the Hand girls’ lacrosse team. Mackenzie made the most of her senior year and did a great job of protecting the net throughout the season for the Tigers, while guiding them to their fourth straight SCC title and an appearance in the state final.
Mackenzie, who had won an SCC championship with Hand’s field hockey team last fall, earned the opportunity to be the starting goalie for the lacrosse squad as a senior this spring. Mackenzie not only earned All-SCC and All-State First Team honors, she was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the SCC Tournament when Hand defeated Cheshire to win the conference crown for the fourth season in a row. Mackenzie went on to help the Tigers reach the Class M State Tournament final for the second time in the past four years.
“My first three years of lacrosse, I didn’t have the chance to show I could be a starting goalie, so that motivated me, and it was great helping the team go so far this year,” Mackenzie says. “I couldn’t have won those awards without the support of my team. Winning Most Outstanding Player was great, but our defense stepped up. We had a rough time getting into a flow earlier this year, but it was great having them there for me.”
Mackenzie’s mental fortitude on the field grew by leaps and bounds this season. Mackenzie says that she learned how to push past any setbacks by staying collected and concentrating on what was coming up next during any given game.
“This year, I improved a lot in my mental game. I used to get into my head more in the past and overthink. I just focused on wiping off my shoulders and getting back into the game,” says Mackenzie. “I tried to keep my composure, and I got over my fear of getting hit with a ball that’s moving fast.”
When she did give up a goal, Mackenzie would take a second or two to go over what she could have done differently to prevent that score from happening. This way, she’d increase her chances of making the save when facing that attacker the next time around.
“I think of ways that I could’ve made the save, whether it was moving faster or taking smaller steps,” she says. “I just kept telling myself that I’ll get the next save chance.”
Hand Head Coach Kevin Siedlecki says that Mackenzie stepped up in net to keep the ball out of harm’s way this season. Still, no matter how many games she started or saves she made, Mackenzie was all about improving her play for the overall benefit of the team, according to Siedlecki.
“Mackenzie had a quick step and great hands that got her a few extra saves per game, but the thing she did better this year was clearing. She was very reliable getting the ball out to start transitions, even able to skip the pack and get it to the attack right away,” says Coach Siedlecki. “She was always looking to improve and play whatever role was needed of her. She worked hard her whole career just to get this one season as starter, and she definitely made the most of it. I am grateful for her spirit and so proud of what she accomplished and how she accomplished it.”
Mackenzie had the pleasure of competing alongside her sister Regan and her cousin Riley Kokoruda while playing lacrosse at Hand. Family was a common theme among a Tigers’ team whose athletes played for each other throughout a campaign that was filled with plenty of postseason success.
“It was a really fun experience to play with my sister and cousin here,” says Mackenzie, who thanks her dad, Roger Larson; her uncle, Shane Kokoruda; and Coach Siedlecki. “Our starting lineup was made of mostly the senior class this year. We had played together for so long, and so it as fun to make it back to the state final one more time.”