Is one of RI's top lacrosse stars playing in Div. IV? Here's what Classical's Orla Howlett says
PROVIDENCE — You didn’t need to know what she looked like. You didn’t need a roster. You didn’t need someone pointing her out.
One draw is all it takes to figure out who Orla Howlett is.
Howlett might be the best-kept secret in girls lacrosse. It’s not because of her talent — she’s already verbally committed to play at the Division I level — but it is because of the circumstances of where she’s playing high school.
And there’s no place Howlett would rather be.
“It can get frustrating but you have to put it behind you and focus on building a team here,” Howlett said. “Classical as a school is amazing and it’s definitely really fun.
“I love the culture and it gives me a different perspective on the world.”
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Division IV girls lacrosse is a different scene from Division I, which has the state’s best teams, best players and is filled mostly with girls who started playing well before they got to high school.
The teams that play in Division IV are small-school programs with a few experienced players but many newcomers, or teams from communities that don’t have local youth programs to introduce them to the sport.
For most of Division IV, players start as freshmen. Players can pick up things up quickly and in a sport where speed and athleticism are paramount, they can find success.
The largest gap between D-IV and D-I isn’t athleticism. It’s the fundamentals, like stick skills, passing and catching and ground balls.
These teams are all playing the game — and participation is the larger point of D-IV. But it’s clear to even a lacrosse novice that Howlett is playing at a much different level.
Compared to most of the state’s best players, Howlett came to lacrosse late. She started playing in seventh grade, but quickly found herself in love with the game. Blessed with track speed — she was a member of the Purple’s indoor title team in 2023 — and athleticism, things came quickly for Howlett.
Howlett, who progressed by playing for the Revolution Lacrosse club, was at a college clinic when her play was noticed by Eileen Ferry, a former assistant at Brown who is currently the head coach at Bryant.
Ferry is also the head coach for the Ireland U21 national team. Howlett’s father is from Ireland, Howlett has dual citizenship and Ferry invited her for a tryout. She joined the team and last summer, took part in the World Championships.
“We ended the season like 9-1 and that was a season-high for Ireland lacrosse,” Howlett said. “It’s been really good. We go over once or twice a year to train.”
While she was finding success playing with high-caliber players on her national team, high school lacrosse was providing a different challenge.
The Purple went 5-7 in Division III her freshman season and, after dropping to the newly created Division IV, went 8-6 before losing in the semifinals.
Howlett was Classical’s best player in both seasons, but sometimes got flustered with how things were going on the field.
“It can be frustrating,” Classical coach Steven Jackson said. “She plays with people and throws it harder than all of them and they don’t catch it all of the time because they’re not used to it.”
Things have changed this spring.
Classical’s roster is growing with players excited to try the sport for the first time. This season, Howlett has become an big part in their development and turned into a leader. She offers tips on skills, makes sure everyone is communicating and makes sure to lead by example, putting in the extra work necessary to improve her own skills.
There are still moments of frustration. In last week’s loss to North Smithfield — Classical’s first of the season — Howlett picked up two cards on penalties that shouldn’t have happened, earning her a spot on the sidelines for the rest of the game.
In the immediate aftermath of Howlett being sent off, North Smithfield turned a close game into a blowout.
After the game, Howlett didn’t need to be told stuff like that can’t happen.
“I hold myself to such a high standard, so when I’m playing I know I need to be on point at all times,” Howlett said. “I want to try to hold myself accountable in all these games.”
“I’ve never coached a kid with this much talent,” Jackson said. “She’s grown up a lot. She’s in 11th grade, she’s matured and it’s showing every week.”
Howlett’s talent has helped set up her future as well. When the recruiting window opened in September, Howlett was contacted by several Division I programs. By the end of the October, she found one that fit and verbally committed to play at the University of Rhode Island.
The team hasn’t played an NCAA D-I game yet. URI will have its inaugural season next spring and Howlett will be there for its second year, helping the Rams build the program’s foundation.
“It was an amazing fit,” Howlett said. “I love the program, I love the coaches. I’ve worked with the coaches a lot so I had a strong connection.
“It’s a building program, which is like Classical’s and Ireland's and I think that’s probably the best part — to be a part of building something.”
A lot will happen between now and her arrival in Kingston.
Howlett has a busy schedule with Ireland — she has a tournament Memorial Day Weekend, the World Championships and hopes to be around for the Olympics — but has some things to take care of at home first.
Following the loss to North Smithfield, Classical picked up wins over Tiverton and Johnston, games in which Howlett scored 13 of the teams 28 goals, improving the team’s record to 6-1. There are five games left in the regular season: Classical plays on Thursday at Coventry and Friday at home against Scituate. The Purple are in line to have their best season since finishing as the D-III runner-up in 2015.
“We definitely want a championship,” Howlett said. “That’s the biggest goal right now.”
Howlett knows her play will be an important part of Classical’s postseason hopes.
But now she understands she can’t do it alone.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself in these games,” Howlett said. “It’s scary, but I try to come out and have fun.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Orla Howlett is among Rhode Island top girls lacrosse stars
