UMBC women’s lacrosse senior Megan Halczuk recently chatted with PressBox about contributing on both ends of the field, her favorite thing about Baltimore and more. The 5-foot-5 midfielder posted 24 goals, 13 assists, 111 draw controls, 23 caused turnovers and 20 groundballs for the Retrievers in 2022 en route to second-team All-America East honors. Halczuk is a native of Fawn Grove, Pa., and graduate of Kennard-Dale High School.
PressBox: How did you become interested in lacrosse?
Megan Halczuk: So, actually, my friend’s mom, [Tammy Dudick], was a coach when I was 8 years old, so I would hang out with her daughters all the time. They kind of convinced me to play lacrosse, and I’ve been playing ever since.
PB: Who influenced your game growing up?
MH: Definitely Taylor Cummings. I remember when Maryland was playing Northwestern [in the Final Four in 2014] at Towson. Ever since, I’ve always looked up to her and her game play, especially on the draw.
PB: Why did you choose UMBC?
MH: I chose UMBC because it’s close to home. Maryland’s basically the lacrosse capital. It’s a great academic school. It’s an Honors University. Also, my godfather, [Mike Blake] also went to UMBC.
PB: What’s your favorite memory at UMBC so far?
MH: I think my favorite memory would probably be the VCU game two years ago. We were down by [five] goals at half, then we came back and won. I actually had the winning goal to put us on top with about 10 seconds left.
PB: Is there an art to winning draws? Did someone teach you how to do it?
MH: [A club coach] taught me the technique of how to do a self draw, which I do it in kind of a different way than what’s normally done. I actually go backward instead of forward, so that’s my special technique, I guess.
PB: You had 24 goals, 13 assists, 111 draw controls, 23 caused turnovers and 20 groundballs in 2022. Do you take pride in contributing on both ends of the field?
MH: Definitely. I have past coaches or family members that always ask what’s my favorite, offense or defense, and I can never decide. Defense is obviously really important. It’s one of the most important factors of the game [and] I love defense so much. But I also love offense, too, because it gives you the freedom and creativity of doing what you want to get the ball in the back of the net. And then also participating in a draw as well. Possession is nine-tenths of the law, so that’s obviously another important aspects of the game.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Baltimore?
MH: My favorite thing about Baltimore is that actually all of my family is from Baltimore City. Both of my parents grew up in the city. It’s interesting to go back to their neck of the woods because I’m from a really rural area in Pennsylvania, so it’s interesting to see what [environment] they grew up in and where they’re from. My dad, [Troy], grew up in Brooklyn and my mom, [Sandra], grew up right by the Inner Harbor.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about UMBC?
MH: Definitely I think my teammates and the people. Besides that, the academic expectations that the school has. … I am double majoring in public health and sociology. They’re actually kind of my backup because right now I am currently pursuing to apply to the sonography program that the UMBC Training Centers has. So for that, you only have prerequisites. You don’t have to major in anything, so those are kind of my backup if the program doesn’t [come] through.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
MH: Shannon Finch, Sara DeLeon, Claire Bockstie and Jenna McDermott. We’re all roommates. We’re all in the same class. We’ve been there together since freshman year. I don’t think there’s truly a defining moment out of each of them. I think we’ve all had each others’ backs since Day 1. We’ve all gotten along really well.
PB: What player did you look up to when you first got to UMBC?
MH: I think that would be Cassie Evans. She was a defender and she was also a bio major, so she was focused all around and she was definitely someone that I looked up to.
PB: What advice do you have for younger players who are in the recruiting process?
MH: The advice I would give is go to a lot of recruiting camps and prospect camps at various colleges you want to go to because that’s how you really get seen. Just stay resilient and keep your name out there as much as you can.
PB: What are your goals for after lacrosse?
MH: My goals are to enter the sonography program at the UMBC Training Centers to become a cardiac sonographer.
Photo Credit: Gail Burton