Girls Varsity Lacrosse
Additional Levels Offered:
Girls JV Lacrosse
Team Overview
Gunn Girls Lacrosse is a force. The program competes in the Western New England Prep School Lacrosse Association (WNEPSLA) Class B division alongside teams from Canterbury School, Kent School, Hopkins, Millbrook, and Berkshire, among others. Practices and games focus on developing the basic fundamentals while instilling a college-level approach to strategy in all facets of the game. “Doing the little things well,” such as ground balls, draw controls, caused turnovers, and off-ball movement, is the team’s mantra, and a big point of emphasis in every practice. More importantly, the coaching staff is intentional about ingraining the values of teamwork, respect, hard work, and having fun in everything that they do. Developing young women with strong character is of utmost importance.
The growth of Gunn Girls Lacrosse over the past two years has been impressive. For the first time in recent history, the program expanded in 2022 to include JV and varsity teams. The current varsity roster includes 25 student-athletes from eight states, with four All-NESCAC selections, and 23 tri-sport athletes at Gunn. In 2022, four members of the Girls Varsity Lacrosse team were selected to represent Connecticut at the USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament, along with Head Coach Rachel Hedden, who evaluated athletes at the regional tryout and coached in the national tournament. In 2021, one member of the Girls Varsity Lacrosse Team was also named to the CONNY Girls Command Team in the Under Armour All-America Underclass Tournament. Current players are being recruited by colleges and universities with NCAA DI, DII, and DIII teams, while competing for club programs nationally. Gunn girls lacrosse alumnae are also represented on the women’s lacrosse teams at Hamilton College, St. Lawrence University and the University of Hartford, among others.
Meet the Coaches
-
Head CoachRachel is Assistant Director of Admissions, Social Media Specialist, and Head Coach for Girls Varsity Lacrosse at The Frederick Gunn School. A Connecticut native, Rachel played soccer and lacrosse at Lewis S. Mills in Burlington. She was named a CT Senior All-Star, First Team All-State, All Courant selection, CIAC Athlete of the week, U.S. Lacrosse All-American for Connecticut, and led her team to four conference championships as Most Valuable Player. She went on to play NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse at Central Connecticut State University, and graduated cum laude with a degree in history, and double minors in sociology and general education, from Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York, where she was captain of Hartwick’s Empire 8 (E8) Athletic Conference Women’s Lacrosse Team, a student ambassador in the Admissions Office, and a peer mentor in the Center for Student Success. Since 2015, she has been a club lacrosse coach for Dodgers Lacrosse (now DewLaxCT), alongside her mentor, lacrosse legend Dee Stephan. Rachel has helped place female athletes nationally in collegiate programs of all levels, served as the transfer liaison for D1 and D2 student-athletes in the national transfer portal, and coached lacrosse programs and clinics for many towns in Connecticut. She joined The Frederick Gunn School in 2021.
-
Assistant CoachEmily Gorman is the Associate Director of College Counseling, Head Girls Soccer Coach, Assistant Girls Lacrosse Coach, an advisor, and a dorm parent in Bourne Hall. Emily graduated from Emmanuel College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from The Kogod School of Business from American University in 2020. She was a member of the women’s soccer and lacrosse teams at Emmanuel. She has worked in the admissions offices of Emmanuel College, Syracuse University and Georgetown University. During the summer, she coaches middle school girls lacrosse with LC River, 3D Lacrosse. She lives on campus with her husband, Shane Gorman '10, is an avid runner, reader and loves cooking.
