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Mostly Cloudy Long Beach alums shine in college lacrosse
Former Long Beach High School boys’ lacrosse standout Connor Sofield’s determination during his first three years at Holy Cross has paid off.
Sofield did not see field as a freshman and appeared in only one game during an injury-plagued sophomore season. The 2012 Long Beach graduate persevered and played in eight games last year as a junior with four goals and was named a starter for his senior season at the Patriot League program in Worcester, Mass.
Sofield is among 10 Long Beach alums on rosters of Division I men’s and women’s lacrosse teams this season. His blue-collar work ethic is a common theme on many of the former Marine players who have reached the highest level of college lacrosse.
“The culture of Long Beach is a culture of hard-working people,” said Sofield. “The coaches I had in Long Beach always pushed for me to succeed.”
Sofield’s Long Beach classmate Joseph Radin has had a far different journey at Marist College where he started right away as a freshman and was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Year. After breaking a MAAC scoring record with 55 goals last year, Radin became the first Marist player to be selected in the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Draft in January when the Charlotte Hounds called his name in the sixth round. He recalls his Long Beach High School playing days when the Marines made strides in Class B with teams from more traditional lacrosse hotbeds.
“When I was growing up the community seemed to develop a lacrosse culture,” said Radin of the sport’s growing popularity in Long Beach. “I have been working hard to progress.”
Sofield and Radin are among four men’s college lacrosse players from Long Beach High School playing on the Division 1 level to go along with freshman Matt Varian (Drexel) and sophomore Jake Shapiro (Siena). Six former Lady Marines are also competing at the highest level of college lacrosse including Jillian Piazza (Colgate), Molly Martin (Bryant), Melissa Rubin (California-Berkley), Liz Rourke (San Diego State), Molly Pfaff (Holy Cross) and Rebecca Idson (UMass-Lowell).
