Colorado University Athletics
Brown Finds Her Role As A Buff
February 24, 2016 | Lacrosse
BOULDER — Just a few miles across town from Kittredge Field, where the University of Colorado's women's lacrosse team practices daily, Boulder High School sits nestled up against the CU campus. Sarah Brown, a BHS graduate and sophomore midfielder for the Buffaloes, never pictured herself attending the college that was just down the street from her high school.
“I had never really thought of going to CU because I was a typical high schooler who wanted to get away from her parents,” Brown said. “But when I met the coaches and actually looked around campus, I really fell in love.”
It's been a productive relationship. With an impressive performance against Denver University that helped secure the Buffs' first program win against the Pioneers on Feb. 12, Brown was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Defensive Player of the Week. Brown earned her first career MPSF honor by leading a strong defense with three forced turnovers, three draw controls and two grounds balls, while adding an assist on a goal.
“It was so exciting to see that all of our hard work had paid off,” Brown said about the win against DU. “It was actually a goal of mine before season started to get defensive player of the week at some point, so to get it the first game of the season was such an honor and I was very excited.”
The Buffs improved their record to 2-0 the following weekend with an 18-4 win over Fresno State.
Brown's journey to finding a starting role on the Buffs' squad can only be described as a crazy roller coaster ride.
For high school athletes looking to play college athletics, recruiting is a crucial time. Athletes want to be playing their best at the beginning of their sophomore year to give themselves the best opportunity to impress college coaches. But in Brown's junior year of high school, she discovered she had a stress fracture in her lower back, limiting her playing ability.
“The summer going into my junior year I hurt my back and I had no idea what was wrong so I kept playing on it,” she said. “But because I was in a lot of pain, I wasn't playing well and I later found out in the fall that it was a stress fracture so I had to sit out. I missed the fall tournaments, which led to the schools that I was interested in dropping me.”
With the injury hurting her recruiting and limiting her options of schools, her high school coach informed her that CU was interested.
“I was drawn to Sarah's athleticism, competitiveness and work ethic right away,” CU lacrosse head coach Ann Elliott said. “And I love to recruit from Colorado. I believe the players we recruit from Colorado that decide to stay here have a great passion for the university, for lacrosse in Colorado and have something to prove.”
After committing to CU, Brown went on to have a stellar career for the Panthers. According to her official CU biography, she was an All-American and All-State selection twice, leading the Panthers to a 16-2 record and the Metro League Championship her senior year.
But in her first year as a Buff, Brown suffered another heartbreaking injury that limited her playing time.
“One day at practice in the fall I lunged to the side and all of a sudden was in so much pain,” she said. “I only sat out a week initially but the pain kept coming back so I was out the rest of the season.”
She was diagnosed with a bulging disc in her back, which limited her to appearances in just two games as a freshman.
Injuries are a true test of an athlete's passion and work ethic. When Brown discovered she would be missing the majority of her freshman season, instead of feeling sorry for herself, she was only motivated to get healthier and use her injury as an opportunity to become a better player.
“Over the summer I was in the training room four to five times a week, rehabbing and doing whatever I could to get back in shape and ensure my health,” she said. “That really impacted how I started to play because I was working so hard just to be able to sprint again.”
Brown's resiliency can be described best as great mental toughness, to which she is no stranger. In her sophomore year of high school she was the recipient of the mental toughness award given by her coaches.
“Sarah is a great player and competitor,” Elliott said. “As a freshman she battled an injury and never was really healthy, but Sarah worked extremely hard over the summer to come back healthy and works everyday to stay healthy.”
Brown, who jokes that her injury in high school was fate that led her to CU, doesn't regret her decision at all.
“It's funny thinking that I went to high school just down the street and we even had bowling at the UMC for our gym class,” she said. “But I've fallen in love with this school and honestly can't see myself anywhere else.”
All of that hard work is beginning to pay off. She doesn't look back at her freshman year and see it as a disappointment; rather she believes it was a great learning experience.
“I really had to fight and work hard to get to where I am,” she said. “The biggest thing I've learned was 'nothing given, everything earned,' which is a quote that will always stick with me.”
