Nine lacrosse legends — Ryan Boyle, Charlie Coker, Kara Ariza Cooke, Rachael Becker DeCecco, Sarah Forbes, Cathy Reese, Paul Schimoler, Richard Speckmann and Matt Striebel — will be inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Oct. 19 at The Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md. These are their stories.
Sarah Forbes always liked to run. She was born to do it.
So it came as no surprise that she got her start in track and field as a child — or "little athletics" as she called it in her native Australia in the 1980s.
But when the winter came along, Forbes had to find some way to channel her active spirit and interest in sports. Her track and field coach suggested she try lacrosse, a sport unknown to most in Australia.
Always willing to try something new, she jumped at the chance. She balanced lacrosse with track and field, netball and hockey.
“I got into lacrosse because of my love for running,” she said, plainly. “Then, my love for lacrosse took over.”
That was an understatement. Forbes’ personality mixed with her athletic ability made for a perfect fit in lacrosse. She loved running up and down the field, and enjoyed the freedom the game offered her.
It wasn’t long before her skills trumped that of her peers. The love for running led her to lacrosse, which led her to the Australian national team, and eventually the Maryland women’s lacrosse program in 1994.
Three national championships under Cindy Timchal’s Terps, she brought her skills to the Australian national team. After winning silver in 2001, Forbes helped anchor Australia to a historic gold medal in 2005.
Now, she’ll enter the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame as one of the most tenacious players in women’s lacrosse history.
“I just wanted to be the best I could be at whatever I was doing, and I just happened to have a love for lacrosse,” Forbes said. “The opportunity was presented, and I took it. I wanted to do whatever I could to help my teammates succeed, and I wanted them to be free out there as well. If I played with freedom, that allowed them to play with freedom.”
Forbes’ fun-loving approach to lacrosse started early, as she worked herself through the youth system in Australia. She had the passion to match her skills, walking down to the street to play wall ball on a local alleyway.
She played for her state team, before catching the eye of the Australian national team. She joined the senior team as a teenager ahead of the 1993 world championship, where the Australians won the silver medal.
Eventually, Forbes’ skill garnered attention from the top Division I women’s lacrosse programs in American — across the world from her home. During a tour of America with the Australian team, she met Timchal, who told her she could play at Maryland.
It was a game-changer for Forbes, who was ready for a change.
“I was ready to do something different and move away from home,” she said. “I wanted to take lacrosse as far as I could, and it was such an opportunity for me.”
And so she headed to Maryland in 1994 to pursue a life in lacrosse. She wasn’t fearful, she was excited about the challenge. That attitude translated onto the field for the Terps.
Forbes finished her Maryland career as a three-time All-American, leading the Terps to three straight national championships from 1995-1997. She was the nation’s Offensive Player of the Year in her senior season.
The Americans embraced her. Parents of teammates were there for her just as her family would have been in Australia. And again, she was allowed to be free on the lacrosse field.
“Playing with that freedom really allowed us to find levels where we could play and have fun,” she said of her Maryland experience. “There was never any fear, they never yelled at us. We were there to improve and grow.”
Her success in America gave other Australian lacrosse players hope that they, too, could make it in college lacrosse.
“Seeing the success that Sarah Forbes had at Maryland gave me a comfort level in terms of coming over," said Jen Adams, who starred at Maryland shortly after Forbes. "Just to see her come over and succeed like she did, I was able to mirror those qualities when I came over.”
Forbes’ growth process wasn’t done when she left College Park. She returned to the Australian national team in 2001 to compete for a gold medal. However, a torn ACL threatened to keep her out of the tournament.
But she played on despite the pain. Australia finished with another silver medal, and Forbes was left unsatisfied.
Four years later, she was back and healthy, ready to give the Australians their second international gold medal. With Jen Adams as a fellow star, Forbes met the United States in the gold medal game in Annapolis.
Forbes helped Australia to the 14-7 victory on that day, clinching the country’s first gold medal in 19 years.
“That was a real magical time for me,” Forbes said. “Everything came together in that tournament. In 2001 at the World Cup, I was playing with a torn ACL and it was all really stressful. … I decided after that tournament that I wanted to play because I loved to play. I wanted to get as fit as I could. I wanted to enjoy it. I carried that sense of fun through the 2005 World Cup. It showed with how we played.”
Her legacy was cemented after that game, even before it. Forbes is one of the greatest lacrosse players to ever come from Australia.
The girl that just wanted to run will now be enshrined in lacrosse’s most illustrious club, all because she had the freedom to be herself.
“Pretty cool, hey?” Forbes joked.