Plum native Emily Coughlin growing into key player for young Pitt women’s lacrosse team
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Emily Coughlin always will have a place in Pitt women’s lacrosse history. Three years ago, when coach Emily Boissonneault started to build the program from scratch, she made the Plum native her first WPIAL recruit.
But Coughlin wants to be more than a footnote in the team media guide. She wants to be an impact player and help launch the Panthers into respectability in the ACC, arguably the nation’s most demanding conference for women’s lacrosse.
She took significant steps last season, the program’s first, when she contributed eight goals and three assists during a 9-10 (1-7 ACC) campaign. She had key contributions in some of the Panthers’ brightest moments:
• She had a goal against then-No. 7 Duke, starting a run of five consecutive Panther scores that turned a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 lead. Pitt went on to lose that match by a solitary goal, 15-14.
• She had another goal in what turned out to be the program’s first ACC win, a 17-10 triumph over Louisville. Her unassisted tally broke a 4-4 tie, and Pitt never trailed again.
“I was extremely nervous going into it,” said Coughlin, who attended Oakland Catholic, about facing ACC competition. “That first year was basically a practice year. I had to grow a lot as a player, and … I did feel like I was a little underexperienced.
“It was definitely a little bit overwhelming at first, but after playing last year, I definitely think I did get to a spot where I wanted to be and where they needed me to be at the time.”
That Coughlin is playing Division I lacrosse at all — let alone in the ACC — might be chalked up to a bit of good fortune. She had done only minimal research into playing in college, and she, by her own admission, wasn’t a highly sought after recruit. Early in her senior year at Oakland Catholic, she attended a camp at Akron, but she said she didn’t feel like it would be a good fit.
Then her mother read about Pitt starting a program and urged Coughlin to look into it. Though she was skeptical, she attended a camp at Pitt. A short time later, Boissonneault attended a practice for True Lacrosse Pittsburgh, Coughlin’s club team. After seeing Coughlin at the camps and with her club team, Boissonneault asked her to come and be part of what she was building at Pitt.
What stood out to Boissonneault was Coughlin’s athleticism. To play for Pitt, the recruits would need what Boissonneault called “ACC speed,” and Coughlin had it. The other skills necessary to make her an effective player could be taught.
“Her athleticism is what put her in a great position to really be an asset to our team,” Boissonneault said. “She’s someone we took really thinking maybe she could make an impact over time because she’s athletic.
“But she’s committed to her skill. She wants to be the best she can be, and she works on it.”
Coughlin, a midfielder, said she continues to hone all aspects of her game.
The area that needed the most attention, she said, was her stick skills.
In high school, she was able to get by on simply running past defenders, but to compete in the ACC, where great athletes are a dime a dozen, she needed to become more technical and crafty with how she maneuvered the ball down the field.
As the season went on, her confidence grew. Her strength and endurance grew. Her stick handling became more deft.
Now she is ready to make even bigger contributions on the score sheet in what she hopes is another season of advancement for the program.
“I really want to be more of an impact player this year on offense,” she said. “Last year, I was really working on that confidence and getting out of my comfort zone. This year, I think I have done that, and I want to be a presence all over the field.”
If more scoring was her aim — Boissonneault, too, said she wants to see Coughlin increase her shot attempts — she is off to a good start. In Pitt’s season-opening 16-10 win over Duquesne, Coughlin had a pair of goals.
Boissonneault said she also wants to see Coughlin contributing some intangibles.
“She has the most in-game experience in the midfield and in our offense on our team,” the coach said, “so I think last year was a great opportunity for her to learn from the people around her.
“Now, we’re hoping that she’s going to help lead our younger players on both sides of the field. We have pretty high expectations for her this year.”
Something else Coughlin might be able to accomplish off the field is to be a role model for other WPIAL players. She might be the first in the history of the program — and she’s the only one on the current roster — but she hopes many more will follow.
If she can be successful, she said, there’s no reason why other girls from the WPIAL can’t aspire to play at the highest level.
“I definitely hope that I can be (an example) for other girls,” she said, “and I definitely think other girls can do that and go to these big schools. If you’re willing to put in the effort and show how much you care, I think absolutely anyone can.”
Boissonneault also is hopeful of having more hometown girls such as Coughlin in the future.
“We are really committed to recruiting this area, and we say it all the time: We’d love to have someone from Pittsburgh in every class,” she said. “It’s hard, and it’s competitive, and I think someone like Emily is a great example of someone that wants to be close to home, she wants to give back, and I think it’s great for the girls in this area to see and to, hopefully, want to be like.”