Since transferring from American University after her sophomore season, Lehigh women’s lacrosse senior midfielder Emma Fiore has made herself at home in the Mountain Hawks’ starting lineup.
Fiore has started 31 of her 32 games played.
In those games, she has recorded 33 ground balls, 14 caused turnovers and 65 draw controls across her two seasons in brown and white.
Fiore has always had a noticeable impact, starting all seven of eight games in her rookie season and 17 games during her sophomore season at American. She ranked third on the team in draw controls in her second year in Washington, D.C.
Still, the Chalfront, Pennsylvania, native felt that American wasn’t a good fit, and decided to transfer before starting her junior year.
“I decided late May to enter the portal,” Fiore said. “There’s a lot of stress not knowing where you’re going to be in the next two months.”
While in the transfer portal, Fiore was in contact with different coaches, mulling over offers that would dictate the next two years of her life.
Amidst the tough competition to land the seasoned midfielder, one school in particular caught her eye.
When Fiore was contacting potential new schools, Lehigh coach Jill Redfern’s emails stood out. After a tour, Fiore committed to the Mountain Hawks.
The former Patriot League Academic Honor Roll recipient credited Lehigh’s strong academics and historically successful lacrosse program as reasons for her choice.
“I never felt like a transfer. I felt very welcomed from the very beginning and I sort of feel like I’ve seamlessly transitioned into our team.” Fiore said.
In her first season at Lehigh, Fiore started all but one game and scored a career-high 11 goals after learning a new offense.
Associate coach Nicole Grote said Fiore always does whatever it takes to secure possession for Lehigh when the ball is up for grabs and has established herself as a good asset to the program.
“(Fiore is) always working hard to get the next ground ball and just a good person to have on the team,” Grote said.
Grote credits coach Jill Redfern for making Fiore’s transition easy.
Since transferring, Fiore has made an immediate impact as a leader.
“She’s really great at leading by example,” senior attacker Olivia Memeger said. “Senior leadership in midfield has been really great for our team.”
Fiore credits her senior teammates when she was transferring to Lehigh for being the reason why the transition from schools was so smooth. She said she aspires to treat her younger teammates the same way she was treated.
When playing against American, her former team, Fiore feels extra motivation.
The stats prove it.
She recorded two goals in the team’s, 11-9, win over the Eagles on March 9.
“It means more, (to play against them,)” Fiore said. “You always want to prove yourself and want to come out on top.”
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