Influenced by her parents, who both played in college, Natalie Lesch has played  lacrosse for almost her whole life. After four years on varsity lacrosse and being captain her senior year, Lesch will continue her athletic and academic career at Bates College, where she’ll major in biology on the pre-med track. 

“My mom, who’s a coach, she’s really the one who pushed me to do this, and I wouldn’t be here without her,” stated Lesch. 

Lesch described her experience during the recruiting process as short, but stressful due to late participation and the stress of the short timeline for Division lll school commitments. 

“Originally, I actually wasn’t going to play. It was at the end of my junior year season that I decided I wanted to play, and then I went to a couple of camps and clinics, and Bates reached out to me. I visited right before I committed, and it was a really beautiful school. I loved the coach, the girls that I met there, and it was just overall, a great fit”

Lesch’s athletic abilities aren’t limited to just lacrosse;, she also thrived in field hockey, playing at varsity level for three years. Lesch expressed how field hockey was a big part of her life and how she’ll miss playing it the most after she graduates. 

“My overall favorite ETHS memory is probably going to state for field hockey. That was a really fun experience that I will never get to do again, but it was great while it lasted. My favorite lacrosse memory was probably beating Lake Forest for the first time, my sophomore year. We didn’t think we were going to win, and then they ended up going to state, but we had beat them in the regular season, so that was fun.”