Carli Sukonik finds success with Lehigh women’s lacrosse

Senior Carli Sukonik has been a starter in all four seasons of her Lehigh lacrosse career, she was a leading scorer her freshman and junior years and she was an All-Patriot League honoree for the last three seasons. Sukonik, however, excels in more areas than just on the field.

A native of Penn Valley, Pennsylvania, Sukonik’s lacrosse career started when she was in the fifth grade, with her father serving as a big inspiration. He was always willing to practice with her in his spare time and teach her both how to play the game physically and also technically.

“One of my biggest strengths in lacrosse, or any sport I play, is my vision, my ability to see the field, understand the game and recognize what opportunities will unfold in the plays ahead,” Sukonik said. “My dad was the one who taught me to think like that both directly and indirectly, and he always believed in me.”

Sukonik continued to practice and develop her skills in high school. She was a four-year varsity letter winner, two-time captain of her team and she scored over 300 goals. She even was named to the ESPN Rise all-tournament team at the US Lacrosse All-American game.

“I had a very tough and knowledgeable coach and a competitive game schedule in high school, and that helped me to prepare for the intensity of college lacrosse,” she said.

She was then recruited to play lacrosse at Lehigh. She said she loved how Lehigh’s lacrosse program had a balance between academics, lacrosse and social scene.

“It is a competitive program that wants to win and make every player better both on and off the field,” she said. “Many other schools that I considered struggled to find this balance.”

Another thing that she liked about Lehigh was its design program, which is her major. The courses that she learned about perfectly matched her interests, and she liked the smaller class sizes.

As she walked onto the field for her first practice her freshman year, she said she did not know what to expect.

“The pace of the game is very different than that of high school lacrosse,” Sukonik said. “It was nerve-wracking to have to compete at the same level as the more experienced players.”

But that did not stop her from starting all 16 games in her first season and becoming the leading scorer on her team that season with 41 goals, placing her fifth in the Patriot League for goals per game.

She said the biggest difference between high school and college lacrosse was the amount of time and energy she had to invest in the sport. She mentioned how the pace of the game is a lot faster and that the training is year round instead of just in the spring.

She found even more success in her sophomore season, finishing second in goals on the team and earning Second Team All-Patriot League honors for the second year in a row. She also earned a place on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

Sukonik said lacrosse created a structured schedule that helped her to be a more disciplined and successful student.

“In some ways, having lacrosse every day helped me get my work done,” Sukonik said. “However, it would have been nice sometimes to sit down after class and work for several hours while I was in a groove rather than having to have my work time broken up with practice.”

In her junior year, she once more led the team in goals, getting to 98 total goals in her career. That season, she was an All-Patriot League honoree for the third year in the row.

Besides lacrosse, Sukonik said she has a niche for cooking, traveling, photography, fashion and doing graphic design work. She also enjoys spending time with her friends and family.

“Carli is not only a phenomenal player but a great friend and a great leader,” junior midfielder/defense Nikki Isdaner said.

After her career at Lehigh is over, Sukonik said she will be working for Camp Canadensis, a children’s sleep-away camp in the Poconos, where she will have a year-round leadership position. She also plans on pursuing a master’s degree in Camp Management and Administration.