Meet Sydney Pappas, the attacking mind behind a historic lacrosse season for Villanova

In her final season at Villanova, senior attack Sydney Pappas ensured that her name would be etched in the school record books.

She netted five goals March 15 against Columbia to become Villanova’s all-time leading scorer, but the history-making moment was no shock to Pappas’ coaches and teammates. The only surprise for Villanova coach Jill Batcheller was the composure with which she did it.

“She’s not ever doing it for herself,” Batcheller said. “She’s really doing it for her teammates and never makes a big noise when she does score. It’s often surprising how many goals and points she has at the end of a game, but that says so much about the person that she is.”

Villanova (10-4, 4-1 Big East) is in first place in the conference. It’s one of the Wildcats’ most successful seasons in recent history, and they will host the Big East semifinals and championship from May 1-3.

From Big East freshman of the week in 2022 to the conference’s co-attack of the year in 2023, Pappas has built a formidable resumé during her time at Villanova.

The Garden City, N.Y., native leads the team with 36 goals this season and has 169 for her career.

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“Sydney has a really high lacrosse IQ,” Batcheller said. “Most times in practice, she’s doing her job, but she’s also the ‘quarterback’ instructing everybody else on where to go. A really hard thing to do is to balance being a go-to player and being aware of everybody else.”

One of Villanova’s advantages this season is the strong chemistry and contagious energy from the duo of Pappas and fellow senior attack Sami Carey. Carey is the team leader in points with 65 and the Big East leader in assists with 44. To her, playing with Pappas is “second nature.”

“I can see where [Pappas’] eyes are and know what she’s doing,” she said. “We just read each other’s minds. But it wasn’t always like that. Now, it’s nice that we’re on the same level and we don’t need to talk out [our game plans] as much anymore.”

The Wildcats haven’t finished above .500 in the Big East since 2019.

In fact, Villanova’s 11-7 upset of No. 25 UConn on March 22 marked the first win over the Huskies since Batcheller came to Villanova from Drexel in June 2021. Pappas, who arrived that fall, also had never experienced a win over the Huskies.

“Before the game, we were looking into that 2021 overtime victory,” Pappas said. “We played that [video] in the locker room to just get that feeling from the last time our team has won. We were just so sure of each other on the field and started off the game so strong. It felt so rewarding.”

The alumni day win had 35 former players in attendance, including some from the 2021 team. As the first Big East matchup of the season, the victory gave the team fuel to secure its next three conference wins.

The Wildcats have two games left before the Big East semifinals on their home turf. They will face nonconference opponent Richmond on Saturday and wrap up the regular season with a visit to Denver on April 26.

Pappas believes that Villanova finally has all the weapons it needs to conquer the conference.

“This year’s team is the most special [in my time at Villanova], in terms of how we’re ready to make a statement, make history,” Pappas said. “Everyone is so bought into the success of this team. I want to look back and be grateful for the memories and proud of where this program has gone in the past few years.”

Villanova will graduate 12 seniors at the end of this season, which Batcheller calls a “unique circumstance.” Having so many players nearing the end of their college careers increases the pressure on the team to deliver wins — but also embrace every moment.

“We celebrate everything,” Pappas said. “You can tell by watching our sidelines. We will celebrate the smallest of plays and the biggest of plays. That speaks volumes to our team culture and our team identity, which is rooted in our coaches and senior class.”

While the team depends on guidance from seniors, it benefits from a promising group of underclassmen. Freshman midfielder Leslie Iorio, who has 23 goals this season, adds depth to the offense. Sophomore Emma Verhoest handles draw controls, with 151 this season.

“If I had to say anything about Sydney, her lasting mark on this team is going to be her fierce leadership,” Batcheller said. “Hopefully, she has all these younger players who are looking at how she did it, and are looking to attempt to break her record one day.”

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