Sag Harbor Resident Emma Rascelles Will Play Lacrosse at LIU Post

Sag Harbor resident Emma Rascelles is taking her lacrosse career to the next level.

Rascelles, a senior at St. Anthony’s High School in Huntington, recently signed her letter of intent to play lacrosse next year at Division I Long Island University in Brookville.

Rascelles attended Sag Harbor Elementary School and was a Pierson student through her sophomore year before transferring to St. Anthony’s for her final two years of high school. During her time at Pierson, she played field hockey at her home school and lacrosse at nearby East Hampton, and kept her focus on lacrosse when she made the move to St. Anthony’s, a private Catholic school known for its top tier athletic programs.

Rascelles said she did not initially think she’d stay on Long Island for college. Her early search focused on schools in the South. But she said the coaching staff at LIU, led by head coach Meghan McNamara, won her over, and she fell in love with the Brookville campus.

“I wanted to expand outside of Long Island, but when I talked to the coaches at LIU, they were exactly what I was looking for in who I wanted to play for, for the next four years,” she said. “I fell in love with the campus and the environment the coaches created on and off the field.”

Rascelles is excited to continue her lacrosse career at LIU, and is also taking the academic element seriously as well. She was accepted into LIU’s College of Management and plans to continue on to law school after earning her undergraduate degree.

Playing for St. Anthony’s was a big part of Rascelles’s development as a lacrosse player, but the time she spent playing for the club team, Top Guns, was crucial as well, she said. The club team is led by Joe Nicolosi, who is also the girls varsity coach at Islip High School, and Alexa Mattera, an assistant coach at Hofstra University. Rascelles, a midfielder, said that playing on the club team helped her development immensely.

“The atmosphere of my club team is amazing,” she said. “The competitiveness and mentality my team share is my favorite aspect. Everyone wants to work hard toward winning and playing at the collegiate level.”

Rascelles said that former Pierson field hockey coach Kim Hannigan and former Pierson Athletic Director Eric Bramoff were influential in her development as an athlete, and she said she enjoyed her time playing field hockey at Pierson.

Ultimately, she chose to transfer to St. Anthony’s because she felt it was the right move for her in terms of her academic and athletic development, and she said it has been worth the extra time spent in the car to get there during the week. Her club team has required a similar time commitment, as it is based in West Babylon.

“St. Anthony’s offers a rigorous academic program along with highly competitive athletics and the traditional values aligned with my family,” she said. “My time there has led me to grow as a person, student and athlete.”