Backyard to Big East: UConn-bound Anna Magennis honed her skill for Ashland girls lacrosse
ASHLAND - Anna Magennis honed her propensity to score from anywhere on the lacrosse field in her backyard in Ashland.
The senior started watching the sport when she was young and attended her even younger sister Maggie's games.
"It was always exciting, I like the upbeat-ness, I liked the fast-paced tempo," Anna Magennis said. "I like being on the go, so it fit me."
Her stick didn't suit her at first. She fired passes and shots into a rebounder and played catch with her parents and Maggie until they became routine.
But routines are boring. Anna added some flair. She worked trick shots into the repertoire. They started with a behind the back. Magennis added a Twizzler - a backward-facing shovel over the head, rise ball shots or a low roller across the ground.
"Her stick skills are phenomenal," Ashland coach Katie Blasi said. "Her lacrosse IQ is beyond a lot of people. She knows the game so well and she has the skills to back it up."
Once she became confident with the trick shots in the backyard, Magennis started breaking them out in games. She practiced them enough that they became normal shots. Normal for her but still extraordinary to witness. The goals send a charge through the Clockers bench.
"Sometimes it is cool like you score a shot and everyone's hyping you up, and it makes you feel better about yourself and just makes you feel better about your game," Magennis said.
FOGO a go-go: Winning face offs keeping Bellingham senior Jack Baker on the lacrosse field
Mainstay at Ashland High
Her scoring knack has benefitted Ashland for four years. Magennis made varsity as a freshman and has been Ashland's MVP since she was a sophomore.
"It’s pretty obvious she can score from anywhere on the field. She can rip it from far or finesse it from close around the crease," fellow senior Julia Schreiber said. "She also hits her teammates well on the cuts She’s always looking up, looking for someone to pass to It's really helpful when a teammate like that is like knows the game well enough to know where it's going."
She already knows where the game will take her next. Magennis committed to UConn in October of 2022 after her sophomore year.She signed with the Huskies in November.
"The big sports school really drew me in. I wanted to be somewhere where being an athlete is a big deal and you can go to other sports games and have a lot of big athletes as friends," she said.
On Ashland's campus, she is one of those big athletes. Magennis produced 64 goals and 26 assists leading into the weekend. She has more than 200 goals in her career. Ashland is 10-4 and ranked sixth in the Division 3 power rankings. That's a sharp uptick from last year's 12-8 campaign and the 11-9 year in 2021.
"I like to think about all of the good things that can come out of a game like our playoff standings and how overall it can boost the team's confidence," Magennis said. "Big wins really help our self esteem."
Big time plays: Mossi, Vadgama provide keys plays as L-S girls lacrosse edges Westwood in double overtime
Magennis' presence boosts it, too. Her teammates both younger and the same age look up to her.
"It's a challenge for everyone"
"They see what she can do and they emulate her. There's girls in the youth program that know her name and that want to be like her," Blasi said.
Her stick skill encourages the other Clockers to practice theirs. Her patience begets better decision making across the board. Her tide raises Ashland's ceiling.
"She really pushes everyone to do their best," Schreiber said. "It’s a challenge for everyone else on the team to to lift each other up to get to that same high level that she puts herself at."
'I'm so proud': Ashland's Nora Quitt places 3rd at Nationals, earns All-America status
That goes for the program, too. Magennis and Schreiber are two of 10 seniors that pushed Ashland to this new plateau. They don't want the Clockers to slip once they're gone.
"We want to leave a legacy with the program. it took so many years for us to build up the program," Schreiber said. "We want to keep it at this high level and leave it at a high level in the future."
As long as the players behind them are following in their footsteps with their sticks in the backyard, Ashland will be in good hands.
Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: UConn lacrosse pledge Anna Magennis honed skills in Ashland backyard
