Kadi Futia, a starting midfielder for the UAlbany women’s lacrosse team, said it hasn’t sunk in that her journey as a student athlete spanning 15 years is over.
Her Great Danes snapped a nine-game losing streak in the America East title game and went on to upset Virginia in the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Tournament before losing 8-6 to Denver in the second round. Denver, a 5-seed enjoying home-field advantage against the Danes, has advanced to the Final Four with an upset on Thursday over 2022 national champion North Carolina in the NCAA quarterfinals.
“I don’t know, this year it just clicked,” Futia said when asked to describe the keys to her team’s success. “I think we’ve always had the talent … but I’ve learned there’s so much more that goes into it than the physical abilities and skills you have.”
Working with sports psychologist Wally Bzdell was one key to the Danes’ late-season accomplishments, Futia said.
“Just getting to work with him throughout the whole season and all the tools and skills he taught us, I think that was just something that took us to the next level,” she said.
Futia learned the importance of team bonding while developing her skills in the Guilderland youth lacrosse program.
“There’s so many great women in the sport of lacrosse,” Futia said. “I can remember back to being in the Guilderland youth program and the varsity lacrosse team were like idols to me. When I’d be at a youth practice and they would come and help out at practice, that was the coolest thing in the world.”
She recalled the leadership of Guilderland stars Morgan Hardt, who went on to play Division I lacrosse at James Madison University, and Cara Quimby, who played for Syracuse.
When Futia was an upperclassman at Guilderland, a captain at UAlbany and a graduate…
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