Former Wantagh Girls Lacrosse Star Setting Records at Adelphi

The Adelphi women’s lacrosse team will be aiming for its third straight Division II national title this weekend on its home field in Garden City and a major reason for its success has been a Wantagh High School product that is shattering the record books.

Claire Petersen, a 2007 Wantagh High School graduate, leads the nation in scoring with 152 points on 49 goals and 103 assists. The 152 points and 103 assists are both new Division II women’s lacrosse records. The junior attacker also led the nation in points last year with 128.

Petersen initially attended college at Catholic University in Washington D.C. for her freshman year in 2008 and played basketball. However Petersen then decided to switch her major to physical education and health, which Catholic did not offer, and this lead to her decision to transfer to Adelphi and begin playing lacrosse for the Lady Panthers in the 2010 season.

Petersen said he enjoyed playing so close to where she grew up and having her family attend nearly every game. “I have a great support system and its great being so close to home,,” said Petersen, who won Northeast 10 Player of the Year honors for the second straight season and earned All-American honors last season.

Petersen was named Lacrosse Magazine’s Preseason Player of the Year prior to this season and the honor made her even more driven to have a big season. “It moves me everyday to get better in practice,” she said.

Petersen gives a lot of credit for her success at the collegiate level to the coaching she received at Wantagh from its longtime girls lacrosse head coach Bobbi Colavita. “High school is where I developed a lot of my game,” said Petersen, who first picked up a lacrosse stick when she played in the Wantagh/Seaford PAL.

“It’s great to see Claire getting recognized for her accomplishments,” said Coach Colavita. “She has always been a great student and strong athlete. We are very proud of her.”

Adelphi will face Le Moyne in the Division II semifinals on Saturday at 11 a.m. With a win Saturday, the Lady Panthers will have a chance to claim their third national title in a row against the winner of Saturday’s other semifinal game between Limestone and West Chester.

There is the potential for Petersen to be going up against her former Wantagh/Seaford PAL soccer teammate Raquel Prager in the semifinals should both Adelphi and Limestone both win Saturday. Prager , a Seaford High School product, is the leading scorer for Limestone.

“That would be interesting,” joked Petersen of the potential national title matchup against her old soccer teammate.

If Adelphi wins Saturday the Lady Panthers would play for the national title on Sunday at Noon. With Adelphi playing all games on its home turf of Motamed Field, Petersen feels confident with the Lady Panthers’ chances of a three-peat.

“It’s on our home field so we’ve got everything going for us,” she said. “We hope the community comes out to support us.”