Prior to the Syracuse women’s lacrosse season, Tee Ladouceur hadn’t yet left her mark on the program. Much of the preseason hype focused mainly on the excellence of All-American Christina Dove and her fellow attack Halley Quillinan.

The 5-foot-4 junior attack from Slingerlands, N.Y., fell under the radar.

But with the regular season now in the rearview mirror, Ladouceur has certainly dispelled that notion. Her first season as a starter, Ladouceur was third on the team in goals with 41, first in assists with 41 and second in points with 82, surpassing standout freshman attack Michelle Tumolo and Quillinan. For her success she was voted to the All-Big East Second Team.

Head coach Gary Gait is hoping that Ladouceur will continue to build upon her storybook season on Saturday when No. 9 Syracuse (13-6, 6-2 Big East) takes on No. 8 Georgetown (13-5, 8-0) in Washington, D.C., in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

‘Quite honestly, I’m not surprised at all,’ Quillinan, a teammate of Ladouceur’s in high school as well, said. ‘(Volunteer coach) Katie Rowan and I have been playing with her for years, and we’ve always said that she has the best stick we’ve ever seen. Aside from Christina Dove I think Tee is definitely our biggest scoring threat, and teams really can’t take her for granted anymore.’

Ladouceur had a solid sophomore season, her first after transferring from Albany. Despite playing fairly limited time behind starter Megan Mosenson, Ladouceur found her way into 18 games and still managed to score 34 points on 19 goals and 15 assists.

Although she achieved moderate success, she was by no means a household name.

Though she was recruited by Syracuse upon graduating from Bethlehem Central High School, Ladouceur ultimately made the decision to stay close to home, choosing Albany over SU. That same season her 13-year-old sister, Meghan, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer.

Ladouceur didn’t enjoy her time spent at Albany, and if that wasn’t difficult enough to deal with, she also took on the responsibility of taking care of her sister. As Meghan suffered through chemotherapy, Ladouceur shaved her head in support of her sister.

It was an eye-opening experience for the lacrosse star, and one that made her stronger.

‘Before she got sick, my sister and I weren’t the best of friends,’ Ladouceur said. ‘Actually we didn’t get along at all. And when that happened it sort of changed my mindset on things. You only get one shot in life at things sometimes, and you might as well make the most of it.’

Meghan’s cancer went into remission later that year.

With her sister healthy and no longer in need of her assistance, Ladouceur came to the realization that it was time to make a move — she was going to transfer to Syracuse.

Dawn Austin, Ladouceur’s coach at Bethlehem Central High School, knew that playing against more skilled players would only make Ladouceur better.

‘She has vision way beyond many players,’ Austin said. ‘And what makes her this good against such excellent competition is the talent of her teammates around her. Tee loves to play with those that raise the level of her game. She is a great individual player, but she is outstanding when she can pass to teammates.’

Much like Quillinan, Gait was not surprised to see Ladouceur shine in her new role within the offense. He was impressed with what she showed him in the fall, and he knew that she had the ability to be a legitimate weapon on the attack.

But as stellar as Ladouceur has been with the lacrosse stick this season, Gait has looked beyond the statistical figures that his star attack has accumulated. Her perseverance, work ethic and overall goodness of heart have shown him that Ladouceur is as quality of a person as she is a lacrosse player.

‘She’s an exceptional young lady,’ Gait said. ‘She works hard in the classroom, on the field and she cares about her teammates. She’s the type of person that any coach would love to have on his team.’

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Published on May 11, 2010 at 12:00 pm