It has been a busy several days for women's lacrosse attacker Kaela McGilloway '12. After a disappointing two-goal loss to No. 9 Dartmouth (8-1, 3-0 Ivy League) on Saturday, the Sea Cliff, N.Y., native led the Bears (5-4, 1-3) to a 19-4 muzzling of the Bryant Bulldogs (2-10) on Tuesday night. Her three goals and four assists gave her a career-high in points in a game. The overall team leader in points, with 27, also had the most goals and points in last week's wins against Harvard (4-6, 1-3) and St. Mary's of California (3-7).
McGilloway's recent 13-goal, five-assist tear has helped Brown win three of its last four games. On top of that, she just managed to fill out her forms to declare herself a human biology concentrator. For the sophomore's outstanding production, not to mention getting her concentration forms filled out two weeks early, The Herald is naming her Athlete of the Week.
Herald: Congratulations on beating Bryant this week, 19-4, to take home the Ocean State cup. Did your team get a physical cup?
McGilloway: We did. It was a pretty big cup, actually. It was a big deal for Rhode Island. It was the first ever one, so everyone was excited.
So where is the cup right now?
I'm not sure. I think maybe in our coach's office, but I'm not positive.
Do you have any big plans for it? Are you going to fill it with milk and have cereal in it?
I don't know. The seniors are trying to get possession of it, but we'll see.
You are one of four girls in the family. What was that like at home when you were a kid? What are the age differences?
The age differences are 33, 31, 22, and I'm 20. … I grew up with a lot of role models, I guess you could say. They were always around, and as a result, that's how I was introduced to lacrosse early on because they were playing it and I was always at their games. It's really fun having older sisters, almost like two generations of families, 'cause you learn a lot.
Did they all play lacrosse?
They all played lacrosse in high school. … Two of my sisters did club in college, but I'm the only one who did it competitively.
As the baby of the family, did they taunt you a lot? Did they put you through the ropes?
Just my sister who is 22. She put me through a lot in high school. We would fight on the field. I think she drove me to be better, but at the same time she took a number on my confidence, probably, when I was growing up. It wasn't until she graduated and went to college when I really blossomed.
Fighting on the field, during practice or during games?
During everything. We were really competitive. On Christmas, we watched a clip of our county game, and you just see her coming up behind me and decking me into the ground because I guess I annoyed her earlier on.
In high school, you were a star in both field hockey and lacrosse. How did you decide what to pursue in college?
I guess there are more opportunities through lacrosse. Coming from Long Island, it's more of a hotbed for lacrosse, so you get more options. I like them equally — it was just a matter of I wanted to come to Brown and lacrosse was here for me, so it seemed like the right fit.
There's no hitting allowed in U.S. women's lacrosse, right?
No hitting, just checking — controlled checking.
What does controlled checking mean?
You have to release quickly from it. It can't be towards the face. I don't play defense, so I don't check as often. … Obviously, it's not as intense as men's lacrosse.
Do you wish it were?
I feel like I'm a baby when it comes to checking. When someone hits me in practice, I don't take it well. So no, I kind of like our rules.
Do you think the name "attacker" sounds too vicious? Not vicious enough?
I think it's a good description of what we do. We're always attacking the play. That's what the coaches say, so I think it fits for us. We're not trying to attack people, but you never know.
Are there any games left that you have marked on your calendar?
Our biggest game coming up is against No. 6 Penn (9-2, 4-0), and they're the top Ivy school, so we're really looking forward to that. Beating them would be absolutely amazing and I think we really can this year.
Going back the last 30 years, Brown has never won the Ivy Championship. What's the deal with that? When are we going to win one — soon?
Soon. This year is the first Ivy League Tournament for women's and men's, actually, so we can get to that if we win our next few games. And then, if we win that, we get to go to NCAA, which I think would be the first time in Brown history. We're just trying to make history one game at a time. Hopefully, by the end of the year we can say that we have our first Ivy Championship.
Do you have any intention on keeping up with the sport when you graduate?
Probably not. There are not many options after college to play lacrosse. I would love to play for fun afterwards.
What's something that a normal Brown student doesn't know about a lacrosse game?
I don't think they think that women's games would be as exciting as men's games. I think women's games are more exciting for the beauty of our plays instead of just hitting and stuff.
Is it more of a team game than men's?
Not necessarily. … For women's, when you play with your whole team and everybody gets a touch of the ball, it's definitely more rewarding.
UConn (women's basketball) won its 78th straight game (Tuesday). What do you think about that kind of dominance? Is that good or bad for a sport?
More power to them. They're a great program. Obviously, you want some underdog to come up and beat them, but I mean, if they're that prepared and that good, I would say keep going. That's great. There are powerhouses in lacrosse, too, like (No. 1) Northwestern, and I think it really elevates the game.
Why is Northwestern (9-0) so good in women's lacrosse, women's golf, women's tennis?
I don't know what they're feeding them over there. They're incredible. They're just all athletes and they have a great sense of the game. I think they just finish their game plans and do the little things right. To be honest, I think if everyone just perfected the little things, they could beat them. But I guess everyone's still trying to do that.
One of these days?
I would love to play Northwestern (in the) next few weeks. I think we could hold our own against them.
And they haven't even won 78 in a row. They're not invincible.
Exactly. So you never know.
