(Photo provided courtesy of Lafayette’s Office of Athletic Communications) GOD SPEED: Addie Godfrey races up the field in action this spring in her freshman season with the Lafayette College women’s lacrosse team. Godfrey, a former lax and field hockey star at the Hun School, was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year after scoring a team-high 44 points for the Leopards in her debut campaign.

Godfrey Makes Sudden Impact for Lafayette Lax; Hun Alum Earns Patriot Rookie of the Year Honor

Bill Alden

As a lacrosse star at the Hun School, Addie Godfrey shredded opposing defenses at will.

In her senior year with the Raiders in 2009, the elusive, skilled Godfrey scored 85 points on 52 goals and 33 assists to help Hun go 11-5.

Godfrey’s athleticism and production caught the eye of many college lax programs and she ended up heading to the Lafayette College team.

In getting her start with the Leopards in fall ball, Godfrey soon realized that it was going to be a lot tougher to dart through college defenders.

“Fall ball was a struggle,” recalled Godfrey, a Princeton native who also starred in field hockey at Hun.

“It was faster paced and more intense. Getting into that pace was tough; I had to get used to playing two straight hours of lacrosse. I was getting the ball stripped by my teammates; it hurt my confidence.”

Once the season started this past February, though, it didn’t take long for attacker Godfrey to gain some confidence as she scored in her debut against St. Joseph’s.

“Getting in there and getting that goal showed me I could play,” said Godfrey.

Building on that promising start, Godfrey showed she could star at the college level, scoring a team-high 44 points on 38 goals and six assists and being named as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

In reflecting on her superb debut season, Godfrey acknowledged that she was taken back by the numbers she posted this spring.

“I was surprised by my statistics,” said Godfrey, who scored a season-best six goals in a 15-14 loss to Sacred Heart in mid-April.

“I was really happy to win the rookie award. It is a major accomplishment for our program. We haven’t gotten much recognition in the last few years and it shows that the league is noticing us.”

For Godfrey, accomplishing her numbers was a challenge. “It was hard to get a good shot off,” added Godfrey.

“In high school, I could close my eyes and hope that it would go in. In college, you have to place it; you come up against some very strong defenders.”

Godfrey’s adjustment to college was aided by the fact that she joined the team along with her close friend and former Princeton Day School girls’ lax star Cammie Linville.

“We have been lifelong friends; we have known each other since we were four years old,” said Godfrey, who roomed with Linville at Lafayette.

“The Linville family helped get me interested in Lafayette. It was great to have Cammie there. She and I were able to stick together and get used to things.”

One of the greatest moments of the spring for Godfrey and her teammates came when the Leopards edged Columbia 13-11 in early April.

“My highlight was beating Columbia,” asserted Godfrey, who had four goals and an assist in the win. “It stopped a streak because we hadn’t beaten an Ivy League team in a long time. Knowing that we can play against a team from that league should have an effect going into next season. It was a great feeling.”

While Lafayette went 3-14 this spring, Godfrey believes the program is headed in the right direction.

“We absolutely made some progress last season,” said Godfrey. “We had some lopsided losses but we had some close games against some good teams. We were much more competitive.”

With one college season under her belt, Godfrey is ready to help the Leopards be even more competitive in 2011.

“There were five or six of freshmen who played a lot last season; the team is looking at us to be leaders even though we are still young players,” maintained Godfrey, who has been spending her summer coaching and playing at lax camps.

“I need to be more of a leader and help the freshmen coming in. I will have more confidence going into it. I want to be able to run the offense more.”

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