(Youth1 Lacrosse) – In the sport of lacrosse, Maryland boasts some of the top high school teams in the nation with some of the most exceptional athletes, but if there’s one player the state can look forward to watching in the years to come, it’s 13-year-old Maria Auth. The attacker from Street, Maryland will be entering the 9th grade this fall, and if her 8th-grade season is any indication of what’s to come for high school, then watch out!
Although you can pick up lacrosse at any age, it never hurts to get an early advantage, which is what Auth did. Starting the sport for the first time at just six years old, she plays for Churchville in the Maryland Youth Lacrosse Association (MYLA) and also for the Greene Turtle Lacrosse Club. Leading the way for both teams, Auth shines offensively and defensively and truly has the ability to take over a game.
“She has always been one of the best players on my team and is also one of the best all-around girls lacrosse players that I have seen at her age level,” said her Churchville coach, Brendan Poole.
The high praise is not surprising. Auth was the playmaker for Poole’s Churchville team, a squad that played in the Junior A Division of the MYLA, which is the highest offered division in the state of Maryland. Facing some tough competition, Auth and the team still finished with a winning record and was the first-ever Churchville team to win a playoff game at that level.
Auth definitely deserves some credit for their success, finishing the season as the leading scorer with 19 goals and six assists, as well as 11 caused turnovers, 27 ground balls and 18 draw controls. The scoring, however, is not what’s most important to Auth when it comes to lacrosse.
“I enjoy the competition and how close you get with your teammates and how they become like your second family,” she said.
While most athletes her age enjoy taking the summer off, Auth continues to compete through the summer months and the heat while playing for the Greene Turtle Club team. Finishing again with a winning record, her squad placed 2nd at the Maryland Club Championships and last year won the Top of the Bay Summer Showcase.
Auth was also the leading scorer for the Greene Turtles, scoring 33 goals and dishing out 4 assists. Added onto that, she had 13 caused turnovers, 27 ground balls and 27 draw controls just by playing on the circle as an attack wing.
Being voted this past year as the top athlete in her grade out of over 200 girls, Auth still believes that she can get better and says that her biggest strength as a player is her determination to improve. Her speed and strength training she does will certainly help, but her positive attitude alone makes her very coachable and should help her tremendously in the long run.
Hoping to eventually start on her high school’s varsity team and then get the chance to play Division I lacrosse in college, Auth is an extraordinary three-sport athlete (she also plays soccer and swims competitively), but also shines academically. She finished middle school with the President’s Award for Educational Excellence and was a member of the Distinguished Honor Roll every year.
With a strong work ethic on and off the field, Auth has the opportunity to do great things and the chance to go very far. If anything though, she’ll certainly continue to be a fun and exciting player to watch as she makes her way into the next level of lacrosse.
Written by: Kaitlyn Lipkin
Sports Manager: Dan Lio
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