The first words out of the mouth of St. Anthony’s coach Darcy Messina upon hearing that Tess Calabria was named Newsday’s Player of the Year truly tell the story of the type of player Calabria is. “The kid is one of one,” Messina proclaimed.
“She is just absolutely stellar.” The statistics and eye tests would certainly back that up. Calabria finished No.
2 on Long Island in total points (114) with 75 goals and 39 assists for the Friars in a 19-0 season to be named Newsday’s girls lacrosse Player of the Year. Messina credited Calabria’s leadership and work ethic to becoming one of the top high school girls lacrosse players in America. And few games went by without Calabria making a play on the field that simply dropped the jaws of all in attendance.
“Her athleticism, her vision, her lacrosse IQ and also her athletic IQ has propelled her to a category of greatness,” Messina said. “And not only is she a highlight reel of talent as an individual player, it’s that she’s a complete team player.” Tess Calabria of St.
Anthony's. Credit: Dawn McCormick St. Anthony’s finished as the No.
1-ranked team in the country in multiple polls. And still with all the talent the Friars possessed on the field, Calabria was the player most often scouted against. The Friars played arguably the toughest schedule in the country and the North Carolina commit still dominated the box score.
But the goals and assists won’t be what Messina remembers most. “A lot of players .
