Courtesy of Connecticut College Department of Communications
Camel of the Edition is a series which seeks to highlight extraordinary Connecticut College athletes who have stood out for their recent performances. This edition, The College Voice is honoring two graduating senior student-athletes who have stood out for their performances during their time as Camels.
Will Rice ‘24 has been an ever present for the men’s lacrosse team in goal during his time at the College. Rice is a team captain, and has started in all of the Camels matches since his sophomore year. The New Rochelle, New York native was named USILA All-America Honorable Mention and to the All-NESCAC Second Team, becoming the fourth goalie in program history to earn All-NESCAC honors.
Recently, The College Voice caught up with Rice to learn more about how he became a goalie, how he manages to stay focused as a goalie, and the cultural shift in the goals of the lacrosse program.
Could you please introduce yourself? (class, where you’re from, pronouns, majors, minors, position on team, involvements on campus)
I’m Will Rice, a senior econ major here from New Rochelle, New York, which is just outside the Manhattan area in Westchester. I’m a captain on the lacrosse team and I play goalie.
What was your journey in sports prior to Conn like?
I’ve had a pretty long journey in sports I’d say. I think I’ve played pretty much every sport imaginable. I played youth soccer, baseball, and my youth was filled with sports. I fell in love with two, hockey and lacrosse. Hockey being my main sport growing up and I played hockey until my senior year in high school as well as always playing lacrosse. I kind of fell more in love with lacrosse during high school. I just had the realization that hockey wasn’t big enough. I started playing lacrosse at a young age at 8 or 9 years old and was the only one dumb enough to play in goal. I went through the journey of playing high school in lacrosse, playing in summer tournaments, and then eventually ended up at Conn.
When and why did you begin to focus on lacrosse?
I think around middle school [or] high school I was at a pretty serious level of hockey as well as enjoying [playing] lacrosse. Hockey got to a point where I [would] had to go to a different high school, stay back a couple years, do a couple more years of high school, and play juniors. This was something I really didn’t want to do because I loved the high school I was at and my friends there and I knew I was always pretty good at lacrosse. So my gears shifted towards lacrosse and taking my talents to the next level. I started taking it more seriously during high school, joining more club teams, doing more summer tournaments, and going to showcases. I’d say around high school I really transitioned to lacrosse and [trying to take] my talents to the next level.
What was your recruitment process like and how did you end up choosing Conn?
It was definitely an interesting one. I think my recruiting class was the first class to go through a new rule where you couldn’t talk to college coaches until your junior summer. All of the kids above me were originally recruited at a younger age so it was almost like I had to wait until one day and then reached out to 100 coaches. My process was a really long one, I always knew that I wanted to be in the NESCAC and so I was always focused on NESCAC [schools]. Conn popped out to me [after] seeing the beautiful campus in the fall.
How did you become a goalie?
I vividly remember being in elementary school or middle school. In 5th or 6th grade we used to play winter lacrosse. Every week we had a new goalie with everyone taking turns because no one wanted to get hit with the ball, which is understandable. It came to my turn and I got lucky enough to get hit with a couple balls and people began to tell me that I was good. I kind of ran with that and continued playing and just kind of fell in love with the position and being the last line of defense.
Being a goalkeeper, you can feel disconnected from the rest of the team being stuck in goal. How do you manage to stay focused during games?
I think goalie is a very unique position given you’re by yourself so often. I’d say I try to stay as connected as possible with the guys on the field to kind of take my thoughts away from letting all the goals in because that’s what the game comes down to, being the last line of defense [as a goalie]. You kind of make or break your game sometimes. So, I definitely try to communicate with my team and focus on the outcome of the team rather than my individual performance.
What is your favorite and least favorite thing about your position?
I think my least favorite thing about my position is it’s always not fun to get hit with a lacrosse ball as hard as kids are shooting it nowadays, which is kind of the generic answer everyone sees when you originally tell them you’re a goalie. But I think probably the toughest part of being a goalie is having that burden of letting in the winning goal or letting in a lot of goals. I’m lucky enough to have a great group of guys to pick me up when I’m doing bad or not having my greatest game. I think contrary to that, my favorite part [of my position] is that you can swing the game in your team’s favor if you have a great game and being the last line of defense is a cool feeling that you can impact the game that much.
This season, you have faced 539 shots, which means each game you face around 41 shots: How do you prepare for each game knowing you are going to face so many shots and that you will let in goals no matter what?
I think my mindset is kind of like goals are going to go in and you’re going to save some and you can only control what’s going on in the moment. So I try to stay present and not really focus on what the end result of the game is going to be. I really just take things play by play and focus on the next shot. One of the most important things of being a goalie is having a short memory, because if you dwell on all the goals that go in then you’re just going to keep going down a rabbit hole. So making sure to focus on the next shot, the next play, which is one of our team mantras, is one thing I definitely try to focus on.
How did your team manage to win a post-pandemic program high four NESCAC wins last season, including wins against nationally ranked Williams and Wesleyan and nearly upsetting undefeated and eventual national runner-up Tufts?
I think that that was a great season, a lot of fun. I think we’re a program that knows we’re as good as any of the teams in the NESCAC. In the prior years, there has been some sort of a schedule as to who should win what game and I think last year we did a really great job of not focusing on that and focusing on our team. This makes it a lot more fun when you’re focusing on the guys in front of you and not who you’re playing, because we know we can play with everyone. It was definitely great to have results to show the team mindset that we had last year. I think this was overall a change in perspective in how good we can be and how good we know we are.
Last season, you were named USILA All-America Honorable Mention and to the All-NESCAC Second Team, becoming the fourth goalie in program history to earn All-NESCAC, did you expect to win these accolades last season?
I think this kind of goes back to being in the moment, [taking] every play play by play. I really didn’t expect any of these accolades and my teammates did a great job to help me reach these accolades playing great defense. It’s obviously nice to get individual recognition but I think I wouldn’t have gotten them without teammates. Taking it play by play and really playing as a team is what I owe these accolades too.
How has the lacrosse program changed over the years you’ve been a part of the team?
I think there’s definitely been a cultural shift in what the team’s end goal is and how good we think we are in comparison to the NESCAC. I think we’ve had tons of great leaders over the years which I’ve been fortunate to learn a lot from and a lot of great teammates. I think there’s been a shift in the school and the lacrosse team in the mindset that we’re a good team and we don’t see ourselves as lesser [to any team] and on any given day we can beat any team in the NESCAC.
Have you noticed any differences since becoming a captain?
Definitely, I think you see the team from a new perspective once you’re a captain. I think freshman, sophomore, junior year, while you’re focused on the team and want the team to do well, you’re really honed in on your individual performance and making sure you’re playing the best to your ability to hold up your end for the team. I think being a captain has really given me the perspective that the team is really bigger than yourself. So bringing that perspective each practice and each day where you might not be having your best day or making the best plays that it’s about the team not yourself and making sure everyone on the team is doing well. I think it’s really an overlooking view of the team instead of just focusing on the individual.
What are your plans going forward following college?
I’ll be working in New York City doing sales and trading at a company called Red Burn Atlantic who I actually got the connection with through a Connecticut College lacrosse alumni. This is really a testament to the program and the people that have left this program who are really trying to help each other and it’s definitely great to have that alumni network. We had the trailblazers of the first Conn men’s lacrosse team come back this year for a game and last year we had one of the winningest lacrosse teams in Conn history come back so it’s really special to see just how strong the alumni network is through the lacrosse team and how much the guys on the team care about each other not only while you’re here but after.
Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
