Medway & Millis May 2019

Page 28 Medway & Millis Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com May 2019
Sports
Milford’s Loss a Huge Gain for Medway with Ava Vasile
By Christopher Tremblay,
Staff Sports Writer
When she was in the firstgrade,
her father came home with
two lacrosse sticks from a huge
sale at a sporting goods store, and
from there Ava Vasile found a
passion for the sport.
“We went out back to play
catch, but I was so bad, I dropped
every single ball. I felt so bad for
him, it must have been frustrating
as I was so god awful,” Vasile
said. “Growing up, I was a tom
boy and was always interested in
trying new things.”
Living in Milford, she joined
the Milford Youth Lacrosse
League and began her ascent
upon the lacrosse ladder. Vasile
would play in the Milford league
up until the sixth grade; the following
year, Milford didn’t have
enough kids, so they formed a
co-op with Medway.
When it came time for high
school, Vasile applied for an open
spot at Medway through School
Choice and was chosen to attend
the school. It was tough for her
mother at first, because she was
the one driving her daughter to
school every day.
“I decided on Medway as I
was looking for a more of an academic
challenge as well as taking
part in a better sports program,”
she said. “I knew that I wanted to
play college sports and thought
Milford resident Ava Vasile picked Medway High School through school
choice, and Medway High got a great student and phenomenal athlete
in lacrosse and track out of the arrangement.
that Medway gave me a better
chance to accomplish that.”
Although she knew a lot of the
girls from her youth team as well
as her club team (Storm Lax),
Vasile was still rather nervous
during the Medway High School
lacrosse tryouts.
“I was very nervous at first,”
she said. “Meeting a new team,
trying to fit in and have the other
girls like you.”
It wasn’t long before the Mustang
athletes had accepted the
midfielder.
“Ava takes the draws for us,
and is so fast that she can take it
right down the field and score,”
Medway Coach Cassandra Mc-
Gill said. “I’m glad that I don’t
have to defend her as an opposing
coach. Her biggest strength is
her speed, as well as being a very
versatile athlete.”
The senior has been playing
for the Medway varsity team
for four years, the last three for
Coach McGill. During her first
three years, Vasile has had 625
draw controls, including 134
alone last year. The next closest
athlete to her had 25. Vasile has
also racked up 160 goals and 52
assists with her 100th goal coming
in the tournament during her
sophomore campaign.
Vasile gravitated toward midfielder
,because she enjoys running
and the position allowed her
to do just that, run.
“I love playing attack and
scoring, but I also love the ability
to play defense as well. I’m
an aggressive person on the field
and love pushing people around;
it’s like beating someone up
without the consequences,” she
said. “Running allows me to get
my energy out. If I’m at home,
I can’t sit still and need to run
around the house.”
With all that pent-up energy,
Vasile decided to join the track
team to work on her speed to
make her that much more dangerous
on the field. Having never
run in an organized fashion, the
Milford native soon found out she
was successful on the track level
as well as on the lacrosse field.
“She is something else,” Medway
Track Coach Andrew Nassiff
said. “By the end of her freshman
year, she had taken four seconds
off her 300-meter time, and
through the years she just keeps
getting better. Her junior year,
she won everything and helped
us to our first (Tri Valley) League
Championship in decades.”
This past season, she participated
in the Nationals running
the 300, 400 (finished 8th), 800
and Sprint Medley. She has also
won the State pentathlon and is
10th in Massachusetts. Last year,
she was the New England Champion
in the 55 meter hurdles and
was second in the states in the
300. Not bad for a sport she took
up to help her speed in lacrosse.
Not to be outdone on the lacrosse
field, Vasile was named a
top ten All Star in the TVL and
last year was the Small Division’s
Player of the Year in the TVL.
While Vasile seems to have a
grasp on just about everything,
McGill wants her star midfielder
to do more.
“She’s a phenomenal athlete,
but I’m looking for her to know
when to take it to the goal and
when to dish it,” the lacrosse
coach said. “I think she puts a lot
of pressure on herself as the go
to person. If you tell her to take
the ball and score nine out of 10
times she will; one on one she can
beat anyone.”
As she enters her final season
with Medway, Vassile has already
committed to play at the University
of Vermont next year. The senior
had looked into a couple of
schools that included the likes of
the University of Albany, UNH,
UMASS and UCONN as well as
Vermont.
“It was down to Vermont and
UCONN,” she said. “I loved the
Vermont campus and the girls on
the team. It felt warm and welcoming,
unlike some of the other
schools.”
Vasile is hoping that in her
final season with the Mustangs
that she can help lead the team
into the Division 2 East Tournament
and get past that dreaded
second round. Each of the past
two seasons, Medway was sent
home in the Quarter Finals. Last
year Groton Dunstable ended
Medway’s season and the year
before it was the eventual Division
2 East Champion Walpole.