Prior Lake senior Abby Grove reached a crossroads as she entered high school.
Grove, whose first love was hockey, discovered a passion for lacrosse the moment she joined her first team as a sixth-grader. Pondering which sport to pursue collegiately proved to be one of the toughest decisions Grove ever had to make.
“I just realized that I love lacrosse so much more,” Grove said. “It just came so naturally to me, and I really liked going out to all these states out east and playing in these really high-intensity tournaments. I just love being put to a challenge.”
A five-year varsity lacrosse and hockey player for the Lakers, Grove ultimately committed to play lacrosse at Rutgers in one of college lacrosse’s toughest conferences, the Big Ten. She’ll be about an hour south of her older sister Lindsey, a rising senior on the Iona lacrosse squad.
“It’s such a crazy thought. I’ve been watching all the [college] lacrosse games the past couple months, and I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m going to be playing in these games,’” Grove said. “Knowing that makes me so determined to keep growing my game.”
During an undefeated season, Grove played an all-encompassing midfield role for Prior Lake, which won its third state title. She makes her presence felt at every corner of the field, demonstrating a comfort in dodging, feeding, cutting and shooting and a commitment to helping on the defensive end.
She was the team’s most productive scorer while routinely bossing the possession game as the Lakers’ primary draw taker. Prior Lake coach Heather Pierson said Grove has transformed a normally 50-50 aspect of the game into one of the team’s foremost strengths.
“Every practice, we’re always overcommunicating where we need to go,” Grove said. “That’s really setting us apart from other teams — our chemistry and connection on the draw.”