Canton native Cotter makes big splash in debut for Syracuse LAX
Mileena Cotter is pictured during her debut lacrosse match for Syracuse University. PHOTO COURTESY OF SYRACUSE ATHLETICS
If Mileena Cotter had opening-match jitters during her debut for Syracuse’s women’s lacrosse team, they didn’t stop her from scripting a dazzling start to her collegiate career.
Wearing the same number (47) her brother Paul wears for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, Cotter, who broke the all-time Michigan girls lacrosse record for goals during her four years at Salem, tallied three goals (on four shots) in the Orange’s 21-9 season-opening victory over the University of Albany earlier this month.
Syracuse, a perennial NCAA powerhouse in women’s lacrosse, is currently ranked No. 6 in the country in the first national polls.
Cotter, who played all 60 minutes in her collegiate debut, also forced two turnovers and registered one groundball statistic.
First of many to come
Cotter’s first collegiate goal came with 6 minutes and 40 seconds left in the first quarter, extending Syracuse’s lead to 7-1.
She netted her second goal 5:21 before halftime before depositing her final net-finder with 1:14 left in the game.
Cotter scored a state-record 472 goals throughout her 49-game high school career, which was abbreviated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In August, Cotter was named the 2024 USA Today’s Girls High School Lacrosse Player of the Year, a rare feat for a player from the Midwest, considering the East Coast is the hotbed for lacrosse in the U.S.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
