Stevenson women’s lacrosse senior Kara Yarusso recently chatted with PressBox about taking a step forward on the field in 2023, her goals for after lacrosse and more. The 5-foot-8 midfielder scored 49 goals, picked up 32 ground balls, caused 20 turnovers and won 76 draws in 2023. Yarusso is a native of West Deptford, N.J., and graduate of West Deptford High School.
PressBox: How did you become interested in lacrosse?
Kara Yarusso: My dad, [Michael], played lacrosse [at Rutgers], so he kept lacrosse in his life and a women’s lacrosse coach up until me and my sisters got older. He transferred over to girls’ lacrosse. From a young age, we would always go to his games and his tournaments and stuff like that. I really enjoyed that, so then once I got into first grade, he let me play with my older sister on her team. Ever since then, I’ve just really loved it. I think also it was more than just a sport for me. It was also a chance to play with my sisters and be with my family all the time, so it really was more fun that I got to play with my sisters than just any other sport where I was just playing by myself.
PB: Who were the biggest influences on your game growing up?
KY: I’d say my parents. My dad pretty much taught me everything I know about the game of lacrosse, so when it comes down to the actual competitiveness of it, I’d say my dad. I think my mom, [Dawn], always kept me down to earth and made sure at the end of the day I knew it was just a game. I should be playing for fun and just really enjoy those moments that I have on the field.
PB: Why did you choose to go to Stevenson?
KY: When I came here as a freshman, I didn’t really know exactly what I wanted to do. When I looked at Stevenson, it looked like it was a well-rounded campus and university with a bunch of different majors, which was useful. It’s also only two hours from my hometown, so it was nice that my family could get to games and I could go home when I wanted. It’s close enough that you can go home, but it’s far enough that you’re not going home constantly. The atmosphere when I came for my overnight, I really liked the group of girls that were here. It just seemed like a really close-knit team, so I really liked that.
PB: What’s your favorite memory at Stevenson so far?
KY: We made it to the [Middle Atlantic Conference championship in 2022], but the MAC semifinal was actually my favorite memory because we beat Messiah, who to this point today we have only won that one time. Hopefully we’ll [do it again] this year. But it was super exciting because they’re always a close game, but we had never really come up on top. That was a really big confidence booster and really showed us how good of a team we are and could be, so that was really fun.
PB: What led you to score a career-high 49 goals last year?
KY: I think last year, I was put into a position where I needed to step up and be a big leader on the team because we had lost the majority of our starters. The only two that came back were me and Hanna Ash, so I was put into a position where I really had no choice but to become a leader and take charge of the offense and the defense as well. I think also last year the big mental change for me was I wanted to go out and just focus on having fun and playing the game for the love of the sport. I’m a big self-critic. I like to be a perfectionist, but I think before I was always thinking about what could go wrong and I think last year I kind of let loose and let myself play how I know how to play.
PB: Who helped you with that?
KY: I would say Taylor Blick. She was an assistant coach. She’s not with us anymore, but last year she really encouraged me to just go out and have fun and no matter what’s going on out on the field to play for the people around you. I think that she had the biggest influence on me for that.
PB: You had 76 draw controls in 2023. What’s the key to winning a draw?
KY: I think the draw honestly is 80 percent mental, 20 percent physical. I think that when you get on to that circle, whether you’re taking the draw or you’re on the circle, it really comes down to the mentality. It comes down to saying in your head, “I’m going to win that ball. That ball is going to be mine.” I think every time I go up to the circle I’m just thinking of the way that I’m going to get the ball. I’m not thinking about the person next to me. I think when you fear the person next to you, it makes it harder because you’re thinking of ways to stop them versus how you’re going to get the ball.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Owings Mills?
KY: My teammates are going to laugh at me if they see this, but everybody knows I’m a Chipotle enthusiast. I really love Chipotle, and there are a million Chipotles in this area. Just the food in general I think is good around here. I think there are a lot of good shopping places. I’d say the food-entertainment-shopping aspect of the area.
PB: What’s your go-to Chipotle order?
KY: I get brown rice, pinto beans, steak, sour cream, cheese, mild salsa and that’s good.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
KY: I’d say Bailey Krahl. She came in last year. She’s a transfer, so she’s the only one that’s in my class with me. I think we just clicked starting last year and started living together, so we got a lot closer. I think she’s just a genuine person and I just like that we can have down-to-earth conversations. It doesn’t have to be about anything crazy. We just enjoy the time together.
PB: Who was a player you looked up to when you first got to Stevenson?
KY: I would say either Kaitlyn Kozlowski or Caroline Murphy. Koz played my position, so she always was a good big sister kind of person for me as a freshman and a sophomore. She really led me well and taught me different things. Caroline is obviously a really great player. I think her confidence on the field was very inspiring, especially last year when I had to take that role in stepping up. I think a lot of the times I was thinking different ways that she was able to do that the year prior.
PB: What advice do you have for younger players going through the recruiting process?
KY: When you’re going to your overnights and you’re going to visit different places, the people make the place. No matter where you go, it depends who you’re around. I think just making sure that people that you see when you do your overnights that they’re genuine, good people and people that you could see yourself surrounded by.
PB: What are your goals for after lacrosse?
KY: I haven’t decided exactly what I want to do yet, but I am thinking about possibly doing a master’s program. I do want to work for the government once I’m done school. I did an internship with the Department of Defense, and I think I would want to go back there. At that point, it was an accounting internship. I did a lot of acquisition stuff and reports and looking through numbers to make sure everything looked correct when I was auditing and stuff like that. A lot of numbers, a lot of paperwork. That was fun. I had a lot of good mentors when I was there. I just overall liked that place a lot.
Photo Credit: SKM Photography/Stevenson University Sports Info
Issue 285: February/March 2024
Originally published Feb. 21, 2024