Lacrosse senior defender Stella Ray may be graduating in just a few weeks, but her name isn’t leaving the team’s record books anytime soon.
After four years of dominating the draw circle and anchoring the defensive line while setting team records for single-season and career draw controls and single-season ground balls, defender Stella Ray is leaving behind a lasting legacy. Ray said departing the team after four years is bittersweet, but emphasized her pride in the team’s evolution and the foundation she helped build for its underclassmen to inherit, as she transitioned from a defensive stalwart to a veteran leader during her senior season.
“Freshman year to now, I would say our culture right now is so insanely cohesive, and we mesh so well in the chemistry and friendships that we have, is awesome, but as a freshman, I couldn’t say the same thing, and that was a big struggle for me,” Ray said. “But I think having those challenges has really taught me a lot about who I am and how to overcome these challenges and struggles to learn how to move past those.”
Ray’s career at GW was defined by her commanding presence on the draw circle and lockdown defense, accumulating a record-breaking 265 career draw controls for the Revolutionaries thus far, with the Atlantic-10 tournament still coming up, surpassing Nicole Lacey’s program record of 245 draw controls set in 2013. In her sophomore season, Ray set the all-time single-season record for draw controls with 87, shattering the previous record of 72 set by Lacey in 2012. By the end of that season, she became the fourth player in GW lacrosse history to record over 100 career draw controls, sitting at third all time with 146.
Ray has added to her record this season with 40 draw controls, but has also stepped back from the draw circle to mentor the team’s large freshman class in mastering the skill.
“Everyone on the team, especially our freshman, which is a lot of our draw circle as well, have that physicality,” Ray said. “I think being against them on the circle has taught them how it’s supposed to be and look like and feel with that physicality. They see how hard I’m going 100 percent on them, and I’m pressuring them and acting as if they were another team.”
Ray has also been a defensive anchor on the field, being both a mentor and a record-breaking defender by pushing her teammates in practice and communicating with them on the field. Ray’s defensive leadership was on full display in March, when she earned Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week after winning 11 draw controls during a two game stretch where her dominant draw power allowed the team to defeat A-10 foe La Salle 17-3 and Lafayette College 15-13.
Ray closes her college career out as a three-time Second Team All-Conference selection with a career record of 79 caused turnovers and 181 ground balls. Her tenure included a historic freshman campaign in which she set the program’s single-season ground-ball record with 59.
While Ray spent her first three seasons perfecting her skillset, she said that stepping up as a veteran and mentoring underclassmen has defined her senior season, thanks to the help of her teammates and coaches in supporting her growth as both a leader and a player.
“My coaches and my teammates are the real reason I am the way I am and who I am now and I wouldn’t be here without them.” Ray said. “And you know, the culture and the intensity that Coach Colleen grabs out of you is something that I have been in love with since I was a freshman.”
Ray said that when the coaching staff would make the team participate in a grueling timed mile called the “run test” to test the players’ perseverance during practice, she used it as an opportunity to set a competitive standard and help her teammates push through a physically and mentally brutal day.
“Seeing the growth from the previous run and that run, and seeing how competitive we are with pushing each other to become better, and just feeling the energy and feeling everyone’s drive to beat themselves as well as pushing the next player was awesome to see,” Ray said.
While Ray’s days on the GW field are coming to a close, she doesn’t plan on leaving the sport behind anytime soon. Next year, she’d like to step off the field and onto the sidelines as a coach, with the intention of pursuing a graduate degree in sports psychology.
“I would love to coach, I’m planning on being a grad assistant somewhere,” Ray said. “So I would be a grad assistant, coach lacrosse, and I would also be doing a grad program at the same time for sports psychology.”
