Harrison Lax's Shulman Scores 200th Career Goal

HARRISON - Wednesday afternoon the Harrison girl's lacrosse team honored the squad's seniors as they faced off against the Keio Academy Unicorns in their final home game of the season.

The story of the day wasn't the 17 - 3 pounding the Huskies laid down against the cross-town rival. Instead, the coronation of Harrison's captain Melissa Shulman stole the spotlight.

Coming into today's contest Shulman had 196 goals in her varsity career, well more then any other player in school history. It didn't take long for Shulman to make her mark on Wednesday's game, 42 seconds into the contest the senior had already scored her second goal.

After scoring for the third time Shulman knew that the mark of 200 was well within her reach. Harrison had jumped out to an early lead and it was obvious to the players and fans that it was no longer a question of "if" Shulman would reach the milestone, but a question of "when".

Sure enough the Husky faithful got what they wanted, with 18:54 remaining in the first half Shulman received a pass, made a quick move, and fired the ball in the goal before the Keio goalie could even react to the shot. All the players on the field ran to Shulman's side to congratulate her and share in the celebration of her accomplishment.

"When I scored my 100th goal it wasn't really as public, but for my 200th I knew it was coming up," said Shulman. "It's a big milestone for me personally and for the team as well. There was a lot of anticipation up to this and it is a really satisfying feeling to finally achieve it."

During halftime Harrison Head Coach Wendy Swenson paused the game and the Huskies lined up to honor Shulman. The senior was given flowers and her coaches, teammates and family all posed for pictures with her on the field. The fans all stood and clapped.

"I have known Melissa since I first taught her in kindergarten," said Swenson. "But as her coach I first noticed her when she came out for tryouts in ninth grade, you could tell she had the skill and competitive nature to compete on the varsity level. I could tell from day one that she was a special player."

Shulman ended the night with seven goals in her final home game with the Huskies. Next year Melissa will attend the University of North Carolina to study public relations, she is still unsure if she will attempt to play for the school's team but she definitely sees more lacrosse in her future.

"She is a tremendous player, and she can do anything on or off the field," said Swenson. "As an athlete she is the perfect mix of talent, character and leadership, and she has been a pleasure to coach the past four years."

"I am incredibly thankful for everyone. My mother, father, and brother Dougie have been there for me at every game and are always there to offer advice and encouragement," said Shulman. "I also have to thank coach Swenson and coach Zappala, they always allowed me to chime in and give my opinion during the game, and of course I couldn't have done this without my teammates. Our chemistry since the beginning of the season has really improved and this is just as much an accomplishment for them as it is for me."

As a Harrison alumnus and a member of the community, I, as well as everyone at the Harrison Patch would like to offer our sincerest congratulations to Melissa Shulman, the queen of Harrison lacrosse.