At Lasell University, women’s soccer headed in right direction

The Lasell University Lasers are a powerhouse in Division 3 women’s soccer.

In college athletics, winning even one conference championship is an extraordinary feat.

Winning a conference championship eight years in a row? That’s legendary.

But that’s exactly what Lasell University women’s soccer coach Vito La Francesca has done during his impressive 17-year run leading the Lasers.

La Francesca led Lasell to eight straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference titles from 2010-2017. The Lasers are a powerhouse in Division 3 women’s soccer and have been a force in the conference since La Francesca became the head coach in 2007.

In the newly minted transfer portal world of college athletics, the Lasers continue to post impressive runs in the GNAC. Today, their player-retention rate sits at around 98 percent, a testament to their program, coaching, and, as La Francesca sees it, family.

“There’s that community sense of family. That’s what we try to do on our team. Build that community of family,” La Francesca said.

“I tell all our players that they’re part of this program that’s been very successful, and we need to be great models on and off campus and make sure that we connect.”

Part of that sense of family and community stems from the coaching staff. La Francesca made it a priority to hire former Lasell players to the coaching staff to ensure continuity, familiarity, and buy-in with the program. Moreover, the honest and respectful relationship among the coaches is something La Francesca believes benefits the team on the field and in the record book.

“It’s an open-door policy. Anybody can walk into the office and ask any type of question they have. My philosophy is it’s all about communication,” he said.

“You have to have good communication between your players and the coaching staff. Sometimes, you have to have hard conversations, but you should never sugarcoat anything. You should be honest to your players and extremely transparent, and the players should feel comfortable to ask you any questions they feel.”

Being a student-athlete is also a full-time job. The Lasell coaches understand that athletics, while important, are supplemental to their players’ experience at the university and that academics are at the forefront of their priority list. In recruiting, a collaborative approach between La Francesca and his coaching staff helps identify the best fit for student-athletes on and off the pitch.

“We’re always looking for a good overall student. Someone very good in the classroom, someone who can excel both in the class and outside the class. It’s got to be a good fit,” he said.

“We try to interview the player. We try to meet with the parents and interview the parents. I think what’s helped us stay on a good path — the assistants that we bring in have all been former alumni. They understand the system. They understand the type of recruit that we’re looking for. They’re part of the whole process.”

The approach works for the Lasers. They’ve earned 16 straight GNAC playoff berths under La Francesca and produced a pair of All-Americans in Mack Kingman (2016) — who’s now an assistant under La Francesca — and Carly Zdanek (2017).

Given the Lasers’ success playing important games late into every season, the environment can be stressful for new and returning players. As a result, La Francesca maintains traditions to keep his players fresh and engaged.

From a “big sister, little sister” relationship, where he pairs incoming players with veterans to fun team-bonding events and exercises, La Francesca makes the family environment come to life to support his team as they compete in meaningful, competitive games deep into the season.

“There are certain traditions that the team does that we’ve instilled from day one,” La Francesca said. “During the year, in September, we do movie nights outside under the lights. We get everyone there, get some pizzas.

“The players can feel loose and joke around. Once a week or every two weeks, we try to do something different where we’re distracting the players from the stress of the school, the games, and all that situation. We’ll set up the field in a tic-tac-toe grid, break them into teams, and have competitions like that.”

Consistent in all of La Francesca’s most successful teams is that they believed in and trusted themselves and others. The players’ confidence leads to better, more competitive play and has lifted the Lasers to their impressive run of success at the Division 3 level.

“I think that’s given us some of our great years. My assistant coaches that are now with me, who were alumni — they believed in each other, they believed in themselves, and they believed in the coaching staff,” he said.

“We’re all on an even playing field. We all treat each other with respect. We’re all working together for one goal. It doesn’t matter if you’re starting, if you are on the bench. We’re together, and our goal at the end of the day is to stay together and accomplish something as a team.”

This story is sponsored content, written by the Seamans Media Custom Content Studio.