Colorado University Athletics
Fusco, Fellow Buffs Lacrosse Seniors Not Ready To Talk Graduation
April 12, 2017 | Lacrosse
BOULDER — When Johnna Fusco took her first steps on the Colorado campus as a freshman, she wasn't walking alone. Fusco and 21 other freshmen signed their letter of intent with the University of Colorado lacrosse program to become the first-ever class to play varsity lacrosse for the CU Buffaloes.
"It was in 2012 when CU went through the process of figuring out what sport to add," said CU head lacrosse coach Ann Elliott. "It's obviously a great sport to add and I think a sport that you can become successful in quickly if you do things the right way."
Elliott, alongside her assistant coaches, must have done a few things the right way. The Buffs program, in its fourth year of existence, is ranked No. 5 in the nation in a pair of national polls. Now 12-1 overall and 4-0 in MPSF play, Colorado travels to Los Angeles on Friday for a 6 p.m. matchup with MPSF co-leader USC at the Coliseum.
The task of getting to where they are now was not an easy one. The first challenge Elliott faced was recruiting an entire team in the span of two months. CU signed 21 freshmen, one transfer and one club team member. Among the 21 freshmen stood current senior attacker Fusco, who would quickly become a key factor in Colorado's offensive play.
"We recruited Johnna really late," said Elliott. "I think she committed to come here in the summer before her actual freshman year here."
"It was probably the best experience of my life," Fusco said, discussing her decision to commit to Colorado. "Coming here and building our program was something that I looked forward to since I committed here."
Fusco was exactly what the new Colorado team needed to help build the program. The Georgia native immediately became a dominant force on offense. As a freshman she led CU in points, goals, shots attempted and shots on goal.
Every season, Fusco has continued to be a huge offensive threat, consistently adding to her statistics. As a sophomore she made the All-MPSF first team, ending her season with 15 multi-point games and 12 multi-goal games. In her junior year, she showed how skilled she was at scoring when she scored twice in nine seconds again Marist to break the CU record for fastest consecutive goals by the same player. Now, as a senior, she is CU's all-time leader in points (196), goals (154), shots (372), shots on goal (267) and man-up goals (11); and is second in assists (42).
Although Fusco has earned many accolades, she is more concerned about the bold "Colorado" letters on the front of her uniform.
"She's naturally athletic, fast and talented, but I think she's really bought into our program … and how important all the little things are that she does for this program," Elliott said. "It's not always about scoring or assists or anything like that, which she obviously does very well. It's really about the little things that she brings every day and how hard she works."
"I'm playing very well right now. It's not something that I think about 24/7 when I'm out there playing. I'm doing it for my teammates," said Fusco, who is coming off a four-goal performance in CU's 13-8 win over Stanford last week. "I don't think I could be here without my teammates."
The chemistry on the Colorado team is hard to deny on and off the field — especially among the seniors on the team, who had no upperclassmen to show them the ropes. They were forced to figure it out together.
"We've got a lot of seniors on this team and a lot of leadership," Fusco said. "I think that's something that's really prevalent when you watch us play during practice and in our games … We have a lot of experience on this team and that's something that other teams don't get because they don't get to build a program from the start very often anymore."
The year's seniors — there are 16 out of the original class still on the roster — will be the first graduating class to have played all four years for the Buffaloes — but they are not looking forward to graduation.
"We have a rule that we can't say graduate," Fusco said. "You're not allowed to talk about it because it's so bittersweet, and I think some of us have already cried."
With four more games in the regular season, plus an expected berth in the MPSF tournament and a possible NCAA bid, they still have time before they will have to part ways. Last year, they barely missed out on the NCAA Tournament and are hoping their experience will help them earn a bid and excel when they get there.
"They've definitely grown a lot and they've become great leaders and they're a huge part of this program," said Elliott. "I don't think their impact on this program will ever go away."
