Courtesy of Jacob Halsema
Camel of the Edition is a series that seeks to highlight extraordinary Connecticut College athletes who have stood out from the herd due to their recent performances or as a leader on campus or on their team.
Kate Coughlin ‘26 is an elite attack player on the women’s lacrosse team who has developed into one of the best lacrosse players in the college’s history. The junior from Reading, Massachusetts, is the only player in Conn history to be named NESCAC Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week and is leading the charge of the new era of Connecticut College lacrosse.
Recently, The College Voice caught up with Coughlin to talk about her mentality that has come from being a walk-on, the pressure that comes with being an all-time great Camel, and how making the NESCAC championship would transform the program.
Could you please introduce yourself?
I’m Kate Coughlin. I am a junior on the women’s lacrosse team. I use she/her pronouns, and I am a government and psychology double major. I am a part of the Hidden Opponent Club, and I’m a One Love representative for the women’s lacrosse team.
Tell me about your sporting journey, and when did lacrosse become your focus?
I started playing lacrosse when I was in second grade. Growing up, I played every sport under the sun. I played field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse in high school, so I was always into sports and always was a pretty well-rounded athlete. I think in high school was when I decided lacrosse was my favorite. I really liked it a lot, so I wanted to focus on it.
What was your recruitment process like, and why did you end up choosing Conn?
Coming to college, I thought that it would be cool to be a college athlete and that I might as well try. I actually didn’t get recruited to come to Conn; I was a walk-on. I came to Conn purely for the academics, and overall, loving the school. Then Coach Vogeley gave me the opportunity to try out and gave me the opportunity to be on the team, which is super awesome, and that is how I ended up here. It was a weird recruiting journey with Covid, but I am super grateful to Coach Vogeley for giving me the opportunity.
Since you play attack, what are your responsibilities, and what makes the position appealing to you?
On attack, we pretty much are the equivalent of a forward, so our main role is really to score goals and get assists. I’ve always been drawn to attack because it’s really versatile. You definitely have to score goals and I think I found my niche scoring goals, but there’s a lot of lacrosse IQ behind it, a lot of stick work, and a lot of athleticism involved. We call it ‘the ride,’ which is when the ball is going from our offensive end to the defensive end and you have to play defense all the way down. I was really drawn to the speed, the athleticism, and the agility involved. I love how team-oriented attack is. Being able to work with your teammates and play to their strengths is really cool, so I always liked that part of it.
Did you have a ‘welcome to college’ moment?
Our first game against Tufts my freshman year. I think it was the first time I was really like ‘whoa.’ At that point, I was lucky enough to play a couple of games, which was cool, but Tufts was the first time I realized this is college lacrosse. You’re playing against girls who are really freaking good, this is a whole other level. Honestly, it was really cool to be around. You’re almost watching the other team saying, ‘this is really cool,’ but we were also competing with them. I think this is the moment I realized this isn’t high school anymore, these girls are shooting from eight meters and breaking ankles.
You were named NESCAC Player of the Week on March 17, 364 days after you received the honor for the first time. What did those awards mean to you?
They mean a lot! It is super awesome to get recognition, especially in a conference that’s as competitive as the NESCAC. At the end of the day, it is really cool to be recognized and I really appreciate it. We always say that when it comes to NESCAC player of the week, it comes from upset wins, so I attribute it to my teammates getting me there. It really is a team award in my eyes. I couldn’t get it if we didn’t win and that win is coming from my team, so all those awards in my eyes are team awards.
You are the only Camel to ever receive this award and are one of six players in NESCAC history to have been given the award two or more times. How does that fact motivate you on and off the field?
I’ve always been driven by knowing my role on the team and wanting to do things for my team and my teammates but I’ve also always been driven by the idea of being an underdog. From not getting recruited to being at Conn, where we play against Middlebury and Tufts who are these top teams in the country that think they can come in here and roll over us. It’s cool that, especially this season, we have shown them we’re here to play. We’re a different team than the one we have been in the past and so when I get those awards and stats, it shows that this is the player I know I can be and it fuels me to prove everyone wrong. Our team is gonna prove everyone wrong, and this is a new era of Conn women’s lacrosse.
With two games left of the regular season, you have already put up the most points in a season since 2019. What has made this season so successful for you?
I think going into the season, I just had the mindset to have fun. I think a huge part of it is being surrounded by the best version of Conn lacrosse we have had in a really long time. All of my goals end with me, but they don’t start with me. They start with a defensive stop, a dropped possession, or an assist. My awesome teammates make it very easy for me to gather a lot of points and a lot of goals but going into the season, I decided I was gonna have fun with it and play my game. I find that the less I think about it, the better the outcome is. I sometimes joke that I just launch the ball at the net and hope it goes in and it’s been working out for me recently.
This season, you are on pace to be 5th in single-season points in Connecticut College history. You are also three goals and 10 points away from the top 10 in both statistics in the college’s history. Do you feel any pressure or excitement to stamp your name into the record book?
I definitely feel the pressure. It definitely weighs on my mind. Honestly, it really does make me more excited and makes me even more fueled. Since it’s so close, I feel like I may as well do it. I think, being the team we are this year, the team we will be next year, it is cool to reflect on all the accomplishments we have had as a team. Yeah, it is pressure, but it is the best kind of pressure because it’s what keeps you working, going, and it’s why you play.
You have led the team in goals and points each year you have been with the team. What about you is so difficult to defend for opposing teams?
Physically, I couldn’t tell you. I’m really not that fast or that strong. My teammates have said I’m pretty agile and my change of direction is pretty good, but I think what it comes down to is, if I say I want to score, I’m going to score. That’s just the mindset I have always had. I don’t really care if there is an All-American defender on me, if it’s a random out-of-conference game, if I want to get to net, I am going to get to net. I think it is more of the mindset because it is definitely not the speed or the strength. I know I am going into it with the idea that I am playing against the best defenders in the country, but we are all in the NESCAC, and I am right there with you and I am going to get by you any way I can.
Each year of your play has seen substantial growth in points, goals, and assists. How have you been able to continue to grow each and every year?
During the offseason, as a team, we are very into our conditioning and lifts. Individually, I make sure I am getting out to the field multiple times a week, working on those shots, working on dodging. Not just the shooting and the dodging, but the dodges I am bad at. I talked to my coach and she said, ‘You did this one dodge all of freshman year, they are going to know that now, so now you have to switch it up.’ When sophomore year rolled around and they were defending me on that specific dodge, I broke out the new dodge that I’ve been working on all off-season. Working on that versatility in the off-season, and working on my weaknesses; if I need to get my speed up, or I only shoot with my right hand, making sure my left hand is getting stronger. Focusing on those weaknesses makes it so that each season, the team we are playing has no idea what’s coming at them, making it a lot harder to defend. I think bringing those new strengths and those new strategies every season makes it so that each season I can continue to improve on those stats and continue to improve my play overall.
If the team is able to pull off one more win, you guys will have put up the most wins for the program since 2004. Can you talk about what makes this roster so uniquely talented?
It comes down a lot to our work ethic. We work extremely hard. We are led by a very talented, very hard-working group of seniors who have really changed the program around. They are all significant contributors to our team, and they have set an example for what Conn lacrosse is now and what it is going to be in the future. I know I have looked up to them all three of my years here and they have really set the tone for what it is going to be. I also think we believe in ourselves a lot more than we ever have before and we want to win more than we ever have before. I think winning against Bowdoin last year was a moment where we said, ‘Oh, we can actually do this and we can win.’ Not only do we have the talent, but we adopted this mindset that we are not going to let anyone stop us and we are here to play. Like I said, it is a new era of Conn lacrosse and we have completely adopted that. We have great leadership that is bringing us there, and we are just having fun and enjoying every moment. We are adopting new habits and new mindsets that are driving our success, which is super cool.
You guys are on the cusp of making the NESCAC Championship for the first time since the first competition in 2001. What would it mean for you and the team to make it to the championship?
Oh my gosh, I mean it would mean everything. To me specifically, it would just be a testament to the work I’ve put in and everything that we have done to get here. To me, it would be an awesome ‘I made it’ moment. I spent this time trying out and working hard to get on the team and even just to play college lacrosse, so that would be really cool. It would mean everything to the team. Our seniors, specifically, have gone through every single stage of Conn lacrosse from freshman year, when they won their first NESCAC game against Bates, when we hadn’t won a NESCAC game in a couple of years. Now they are on the cusp of making playoffs and our coach has led us through all of that. She’s been here for seven or eight years now and she has absolutely transformed the program into what it is now. She recruited everyone on the team and built a really strong team and it would mean everything to us. At the beginning of every season, we say it is our goal to be in the playoffs. Last year, we practiced the week after the season because we were getting prepared. We are going to be in the postseason, and we are going to get used to having this extra week of practice because that is ultimately where we are going to end up. We went into the season saying we are going to do everything to get there and it would really mean everything.
Does the team have any special team bonding activities, traditions, or pre-game rituals?
We have our new saying this year, which is ‘together.’ It is kind of this idea of team success rather than focusing on the individual, which I think has done measures for our team, especially considering how much talent is throughout our team now. Focusing on this idea of playing together, playing for each other. We have always found that the more we play together, the better the outcome always is, even in our game stats. The games we win are always where we have our [highest] scores and our most diverse defensive plays, and that is something that we focused on. We have our fun little team traditions. We dance to ‘Shots,’ the LMFAO song, before every game and pound on the visiting team’s locker room. We have little fun things we do, which I think have totally changed the team culture when it is just having fun. Going into the games hyped up and ready to work and beat whoever is here.
What advice would you give an athlete to become the best possible player they can be?
I would tell them that you can never work hard enough. It sounds cheesy, but hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Especially when you get to college, you realize that you aren’t going to be the best player, or even if you are, there are people right up on you, chasing you every minute. I always say going into everything with this underdog mentality, that I am going to work as hard as I possibly can. [That] is going to get you way further than assuming because you are a college athlete, you already made it. You can’t just walk into a college team expecting to play, so putting your head down and working really hard, you can literally never work hard enough. And I would say, focus on your weaknesses and have a good attitude, positivity, work with your teammates, love your teammates, and you’ll find success in whatever sport it is.
Is there anyone you would like to shout out or any last comments you would like to make?
Shout out Coach Vogeley because she really did give me this huge opportunity, and she’s given me every ounce of grace and support. She’s the only college coach who has ever really believed in me and I think I attribute all of my success to her. Obviously, my family, my teammates and my friends who have been there for me through absolutely every up and down, every good game and bad game. I couldn’t do any of it without them.
