 |
Ashley
Gersuk
Northwestern University #10
Division I
|
 |
|
Name |
Ashley Gersuk |
| Year |
Junior |
| School |
Northwestern
University |
| Height |
5'1 |
| Weight |
115 |
| Lacrosse
Number & Why |
I've been #10
in all of my sports ever since I starting playing; it's pretty much
become the family number. |
| High
School & Hometown |
Albany Academy
for Girls, Loudonville NY |
High
School Achievements
& Recognition |
Lettered four
times apiece in lacrosse, soccer and ice hockey • Captained
all three sports • Led Capital District with 200 saves as
a senior • Team Best Defense ('00,'01) • Two-time
first team all-league ('00,'01). Junior year, led team to Section
II Class B title and Regional Class B final • Competed for
New York Team II at U.S. National Tournament ('00,'01) and Capital/Adirondack
All-Stars Team at All-Star Express Tournament ('97-'00) •
Albany Academy's 2001 Scholar-Athlete of the Year • Academic
All-American.
|
|
College Achievements
& Recognition |
2nd on NU's all-time
list with 276 career saves.
2003: One of the Wildcats' tri-captains • Played
every minute of every game in the goal • Collected 139 saves,
the third-best total in school history • Recorded a .480 save
percentage and had a 9.44 goals-against average • Also scooped
up 28 ground balls and had five caused turnovers • Had six
games with 10 or more saves • Made career-high 14 saves in
14-4 loss to Ohio State (3/23) • Landed on the Inside Lacrosse
National Honor Roll after she stopped 13 shots in an 8-6 win over
nationally ranked Connecticut (4/6)
2002: One of the Wildcats' tri-captains • Started
all but one game in goal and played all but 30 minutes • Had
137 saves, good for fourth on NU's single-season list * •
Finished with a 9.86 goals-against average and a .490 save percentage
• Had seven games with 10 or more saves |
| Years
Played Lax |
I've been playing
lacrosse for 7 years, although I switched back and forth from the
goal to the field a few times. |
| Years
Played Goalie |
I played in the
goal for a couple of years before switching to an attacker, but
have been back in the goal for the past four years. |
| Other
Positions |
3rd Home |
| Preferred
Gear |
I wear a helmet,
gloves and chest protector - I try to play an active game, so I
wear as little as possible so my equipment doesn't slow me down.
Although this year I started wearing soccer shin guards just in
practice - my teammates tend to hit me on occasion and I figure
there's no need to get hurt in practice. |
| Favorite
food |
Caesar Salad/
Buffalo Chicken Fingers |
| Favorite
cd |
Dave Matthews
Band - Under the Table and Dreaming |
| Favorite
movie |
The Shawshank
Redemption |
| |
|
Why do
you play?
I play lacrosse because I love the game. It's been my dream to play
a Division 1 sport my entire life, but when it comes down to it,
it's my teammates that I practice and workout for every day that
makes me love the game so much. |
Why are
you a goalie?
Originally, I got thrown in the goal because no one else wanted
to do it, but I think it's the competitive nature of the position
and it's capacity to impact your team so directly that got me hooked. |
How important
is the goalie position?
As a goalie you're expected to come up with big saves as the last
line of defense and start up the offense. Outside the routine responsibilities
however, what makes the position so important is the responsibility
of being a vocal and motivational leader on the field. |
Any advice
for aspiring goalies?
I'd advise aspiring goalies to work on their quickness and mobility
outside the net in addition to the traditional role of making saves.
More importantly, I'd advise them to do whatever it takes to develop
the mental attitude that's crucial to successfully playing the position.
The best advice I've been given thus far was from Greg Catrano (MLL
All-Star Goalie) who told me that the most important part of the
position is to accept that you're a goalie, and you're going to
get scored on -- simple, but something most goalies have trouble
accepting, myself included. |
Quote
regarding the goalie position
The best and worst part of being a goalie is that you're never satisfied.
Perfection in the goal is an impossibility and though this inevitably
leads to frustration, it makes it one of the most exciting positions
in sports, in it's ability to challenge you with something new every
time you set foot on the field. |
Comments from 2003:
“ Ashley Gersuk has improved
her game tremendously throughout this year. We have asked her to be
extremely active outside the net and she has taken it and literally
run with it; we use Greg Catrano as our model of how we wanted Ashley
to play. Ashley has kept us close in many games and any big win we
had this season she had a good game. The wave of the future for women's
lacrosse is extremely fast and athletic goalies, and I think Ashley
is a model for this. ”
- Head Coach Kelly
Amonte Hiller
