Girls Lacrosse: Wellington Jaguars count on Macy Croft’s leadership

Macy Croft swears she doesn’t keep track of her statistics, despite having led the Wellington girls lacrosse team in scoring as a junior and doing so again this season as a senior.

“I go out and just try to get as many (goals) as I can, I guess,” said Croft, an attacker from Grandview Heights.

She, her teammates and coach talk much more about her role as a teacher and recruiter, given that Wellington is a small school and the team constantly is trying to grow its roster.

“Lacrosse, especially when you’re learning, it’s easy to get lost in things like how to make a cut or what to do when there’s nothing happening on offense,” goalie Jameela Askira said. “She does a good job of taking the time during practices to break down how it should look and how it should feel when they’re standing around on attack. She’s so good with our younger players because of her lacrosse knowledge.”

Croft again is leading the way for the Jaguars as she wraps up her career before heading to college at DePaul.

After recording a team-high 36 goals as well as four assists last year, Croft had 15 goals and three assists in the first five games this season. Wellington was 1-5 overall before playing Hilliard Bradley on April 21 and is 1-1 in the Central Independent League.

While Croft primarily plays attacker, she also sees time as a midfielder and defender and is one of several Jaguars to take draws.

“Not only is she a leader, she’s a great example for the girls. She teaches the new girls quickly and shows them everything they need to, what we do strategy-wise, where to go, everything like that,” coach Kailee King said. “She’s brought our attack and even our midfield together and coherently connected everybody. She’s a huge asset to our team as a whole.

“We know if she’s having a low moment because it affects everybody. But the moment she’s up again, so is everybody else. She’s definitely the heart and soul of our team.”

Croft scored five goals in a season-opening 9-8 loss to Lima Senior on March 24 and had consecutive three-goal games earlier this month against Buckeye Valley (12-5 win April 12) and Westerville North (8-6 loss April 14).

“She’s leaving us on a high note for sure,” King said.

Croft will major in education at DePaul, hoping to eventually become an elementary school or special education teacher. She also was scheduled to be a French exchange student and to travel to Denmark within the past two years, but both trips were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For now, she is trying to make the most of her final weeks of high school.

“I try to be a leader and I’m not afraid to ask questions,” Croft said. “I also just like being a teammate, too, and being here with (the other players). I like to see how our new players grow throughout the season and watching them use the skills they’ve learned on the field during games. I just try to help get us going.”

dpurpura@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekDave

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Girls Lacrosse: Wellington counts on Croft’s leadership