Brittany McPherson '17 Recruiting Profile

As the only goalie on the team, backstopping my U-14 Islander hockey team to a berth in the 2014 USA Hockey Women’s National Ice Hockey Championships in CA was probably my most memorable sporting moment.  However, I will remember it not as much for the competition, but for the fact that I was not projected to be able to play.  Only 9 months prior, I was recovering from surgery to remove my colon due to unmanageable Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and my sporting future was cloudy.  At that time, sports was my passion.  I was determined to not let UC take away my dreams. “NO” was not an option for me.  I worked hard and followed doctor’s orders.  Within 10 weeks, I was back on the ice without restrictions and able to resume my dreams of having a terrific high school career in ice hockey and lacrosse and being a college student athlete.  Four years later, I am happy to report great health and I am enjoying my high school experience (including four year careers in ice hockey and lacrosse) and looking forward to playing college lacrosse.

I am looking forward to being a college student athlete.  I am looking for a college program where I can contribute on the field and feel at home in the classroom and on the campus.  I enjoy the thrill of competition and look forward to bringing my game to a new level.  I love playing goalie in lacrosse and ice hockey because the game is in front of me and I can see plays develop.  I help my teammates by communicating to them what I see.  I feel I am a very good leader on the field or on the ice.  I also take pride in being a great teammate.  I lift up my teammates when they are down and encourage them to forget about goals gone by and focus on the next play. 

Off the field, I enjoy family time and hanging out with my friends.  With my history of UC, I am also involved in raising awareness of UC and Crohn’s disease in my community.  Four years ago, my family and I formed “Brittany’s Battle Buddies” a team of family and friends devoted to raising awareness and funds to sponsor research to find cures for these diseases.  In four years, we have raised over $21,000 towards that end.   I also speak to newly diagnosed sufferers, young and old, to share my experiences and to let them know they are not alone in their fight and that their diagnosis doesn’t have to mean the end of their dreams.  I try to leave them with my guiding principle,  “ I have Ulcerative Colitis.  Ulcerative Colitis doesn’t have me!”