Platt, Pansinis reunite at World Championships
The jokes between Sarah Platt and Natalie Pansini started before either had reached Towson.
Though four years separated the two lacrosse players at Agnes Irwin, they grew closer this summer coaching for Phantastix Lacrosse. When the schedule for the 2022 World Lacrosse Women’s Championships landed Pansini’s Puerto Rico and Platt’s Israel in the same group, the banter — and anticipation for a one-of-akind experience — began.
“We were joking around a couple of days before the tournament talking about how we were going to play each other and how it was going to be like old times,” Platt said this week. “It was really fun. We laughed sometimes on the field because I play defense and they play midfield and I would be marking them. And it would be this awkward, funny exchange of, ‘I want to win. You want to win.’ Overall it was a great experience for both of us.”
“It was so fun to play Sarah,” Pansini said. “She’s obviously amazing, and she’s such a fun person to be around, so the fact that we have that connection was so cool. To be in the same bracket and to play each other in one of the most intense games of our pool play, that was great.”
Both players came away thrilled at their experiences. Natalie, with older sister Maria, helped Puerto Rico claim 11th place in the tournament in Maryland from June 29-July 9. Israel made the fifthplace game, falling to Japan. Among its wins was a 14-11 decision at Unitas Stadium on July 2 over Puerto Rico.
Over the course of two weeks and eight games, the Agnes Irwin trio found itself immersed in a lacrosse world that seemed simultaneously smaller and vaster than they’d realized.
Platt’s journey might be the less likely. A 2016 graduate and All-Delco defender — she is close friends and classmates with Laura Pansini, their older sister — she redshirted at Virginia before four successful seasons at Saint Joseph’s. Her college career ended in 2021. Only after did the realistic possibility of playing on for Israel materialize. Platt only recognized the opportunity after her sister, Julia, lived abroad for a year in Israel. Sarah would live in Israel briefly to acquire citizenship, then tried out for the squad.
It meant her first post-grad year was unusual, trying to stay in game shape around a job as an elementary school reading specialist and babysitting during the summer, but she made it work.
“I was a little hesitant because I had been done for a bit, but representing Israel and representing the Jewish community is an amazing feeling,” Platt said. “We always said before we put our uniforms on, we’re representing something bigger than lacrosse.”
For the Pansinis, Worlds offered a rare opportunity that for many years hadn’t been rare. Maria, a two-time All-Delco, was the 2018 Daily Times Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year. Natalie graduated in 2020 as a two-time AllDelco, denied a third by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both went to Princeton, as had Laura.
But Natalie’s plans changed when the Ivy League cancelled athletics in 2020-21, writing off two consecutive springs. As she weighed how to resume her career, she happened to be discussing it with Maria and Laura while Platt was over. Having done
a high-level transfer, she offered her counsel.
“She was really helpful in trying to explain how to find somewhere that you’re going to be your happiest, no matter where it is,” Natalie said. “She was really good at articulating that to me and helping me understand that my decision is based on how I’m feeling and where I’m going to be my best and my happiest, so I think she was a great person to talk to about this in the very beginning.”
That’s how Natalie landed at the University of Maryland, playing sparingly last spring as a freshman. And it allowed Maria and Natalie to reunite for PR, something once so common for them.
“It was absolutely awesome,” Maria said. “I have missed playing with her. When she transferred, that was the No. 1 reason why I was like, oh please don’t. I’ve just loved playing with her so much. But it has a funny way of working out and we got to play with each other again on the same midfield line. It was incredible and it made me think back to the good old days at Agnes Irwin when we were playing together. I think that was probably my favorite part of the experience, just being with her for two weeks and playing together.”
All three players excelled in the tournament, starting all eight of their teams’ games. Natalie Pansini was second on Puerto Rico with 17 points and led the way with seven assists. She also second with 14 draw controls. Maria Pansini contributed eight goals and five assists. Platt started all eight games for Israel, collecting eight groundballs.
They emerged from the tournament with much more than just their stats. Platt was part of a diverse St. Joe’s contingent set that included players on New Zealand, Australia and Ireland. Maria Pansini relished meeting players from different parts of the world and strengthening acquaintances with people she’d only known in passing.
“As small as the community can feel, there’s a lot of different types of people that come from all over to play this sport,” Platt said. “It’s amazing how much it’s grown and how much people from Australia come over to St. Joe’s and are willing and able to play lacrosse. … It’s crazy how much it can connect you to people from a lot of different places.”
The Pansinis have drawn closer to Puerto Rico through lacrosse. The family of their mom, Elisa, is from Lares on the island. While they visited regularly as kids,
they’ve gravitated more toward the Italian side of the family, their dad’s side, because of proximity in the States.
When they played for the Under-19 team in 2019, the ties tightened. Becoming full internationals has continued that trend. Seeing young fans look up to them, asking for pictures and autographs after games, is something they never expected in this journey.
“As we’ve gotten on the senior team with some of the older women on the team that have a stronger connection to the island and have helped with developing the sport on the island and all of that, it’s been awesome,” Maria said. “Getting all those stories from players on the team has been great. Representing my mom’s side of the family was awesome. I could see on her face every day how proud she was of us. That’s just something that is awesome and I honestly can barely even put it into words.”
“It took a little bit to open up to that side only because we had never been exposed to it,” Natalie said. “And now having an experience like this, it’s so easy to embrace it and with our entire team of people who are just like us. Playing for Puerto Rico lacrosse has just opened our eyes to everything.”