Girls athlete of the week
// The Post-Gazette’s top female performer from the past seven days
The past week: Abrams, a freshman midfielder, scored six goals in a win against Greensburg Salem on Monday. She also scored five goals against Yough on Friday, and scored six goals with 10 draw controls against Ellis on April 28.
Check this out: Abrams, who also earned first-team all-star honors in field hockey in the fall, has 50 goals on the season, ranking among the top goal-scorers in the state.
Have you ever had to whack an opponent with your stick during a game? I don’t like to do that. Sometimes people tell me I need to be more aggressive because I’m too nice sometimes, but today actually I was getting a little mad, because they kept hitting me and having illegal checks everywhere. So I took that and I broke this one kid’s ankles. He just fell to the ground and I just started scoring after that, because I was just getting fired up.
Did you say ‘his’ ankles? So you were playing against boys? No, it was a fun surprise today. We got to the field, and there were a few boys playing for the [Greensburg Salem] girls team, because they didn’t have a boys team. I started playing and he was taking all the goals and it was just him running up the field, and I was getting really frustrated, like, ‘I need to one-up him.’ I was going down the sideline and I just switched really quick and he fell to the ground. I got it on video, too.
Did either of your parents play lacrosse or any other sports?
My parents are probably the least athletic people. My dad grew up playing tennis and was a benchwarmer all four years of high school. But my parents always used to say, before I was born, my parents ran into Hines Ward from the Steelers and he hugged my mom, and that’s where I got my athletic ability.
What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I was born just a few hours before the Steelers won the Super Bowl in 2006 against the Seahawks. So I got a Super Bowl hat when I was born.
Do you have a picture of yourself wrapped in a terrible towel with a Steelers hat on in the hospital? I’ve never seen it, but there probably is. I know my parents and grandparents were there in the hospital watching the Super Bowl.
What’s one prized possession you can’t live without? I don’t know if this counts, but maybe my dog. I have a dog named Sugar. She’s a Hungarian sheepdog. She’s still a baby, but she makes my day better every time I see her.