Another Tuesday night meant another long night for Lisa Rogers.

The Irondequoit (N.Y.) High School standout packed up her lacrosse bag and made the hour and a half drive from Rochester to Syracuse with her father.

While Lisa’s sister Lindsay was leaving an imprint at SU as one of the program’s all-time great defenders, Lisa was just trying to get some reps in at the Syracuse women’s lacrosse Tuesday night clinic.

“I’ve always looked up to my sister, she’s my hero,” Lisa said. “So it’s really great just to be like where she was, and have the same opportunity she did.”

Now a sophomore at her sister’s alma mater, Lisa is trying to make a name for herself at the same program her sister will always have a lasting legacy at. After suffering an injury to her ACL before her freshman season, Lisa was forced to sit out, but has had a strong start to her first season on the field.

She’s scored three goals on just four shots through the first six games, including a crucial first-half goal to extend SU’s lead over then-No. 9 Virginia on Feb. 23. She’ll have another shot to get on the board when the No. 2 Orange (6-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) hosts No. 3 Maryland (6-0, 1-0) in the Carrier Dome on Monday at 7 p.m.

“It’s always tough coming off an injury,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “Taking an entire year off then having to come back and get up to speed and I think she’s done a great job. She’s working hard, and you wouldn’t know she was ever hurt.”

Lisa was able to recover so smoothly because of the support she had from Lindsay, who bookended her Syracuse career with ACL injuries, as well.

Lindsay was on the team from 2007–11, but didn’t play her freshman season and missed the majority of her senior year. She also had an ACL injury in high school, so she was able to relate when Lisa went down.

“The biggest thing is that the little things make the difference,” Lindsay said. “Working hard throughout rehab. Of course you want to get back and run, but you’ve go to take care of the little stuff first.”

Lisa had seen her sister come back and not only be good, but star for Syracuse. In Lindsay’s second year, she was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

Now, like she’s done her whole life, Lisa’s following in her sister’s path.

When Lindsay first picked up a lacrosse stick in fifth grade, Lisa, who was in kindergarten, did so as well. When Lindsay started tossing a ball around on the backyard field their father Larry made, Lisa followed her out there.

“In my family it’s always kind of, ‘You’re going to do your own thing,’” Lindsay said. “But at the same time everyone hopes that she does bigger and better things than I did. That’s what my belief is, too.”

Now though, it isn’t Lisa following Lindsay, instead it’s the other way around. Lindsay, who attended SU’s win over Towson on Sunday said she’d likely be able to come to six games this year.

The most important one, though, has already happened.

After the Orange’s home-opening win over Canisius, the two met outside the locker room following the game and started joking around. Lindsay, who is an assistant coach for the Golden Griffins, got to see her sister’s first home game in the Carrier Dome, a place where she made a name for herself.

It was Lisa who got the last laugh, though, as the Orange won handily. But after the game, none of it mattered.

“She’s like my second half so seeing her on that field is an awesome feeling,” Lindsay said. “I wish I could have cheered her on a little bit more, but I did after the game.

“It’s everything that my little sister has worked for.”

Published on March 6, 2014 at 12:16 am

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3