Erin Bakes Embracing Unexpected Opportunity to Extend Lacrosse Career

Erin Bakes thought her lacrosse career would end after taking a fifth year at Georgetown in 2022. She had a job lined up in business development in New York City and was considering a new chapter in her athletic career.

“I thought maybe I would become the classic post-college athlete that starts running marathons or something, knowing that I would always want some type of athletic goal to work toward,” Bakes said.

New York City is home to one of the world’s most iconic 26.2-mile races — the one that ends on the winding walkways of Central Park and with a meal at Tavern on the Green. However, during her graduate season at Georgetown, she learned some news that would eventually see her taking a sharp pivot and charting a different route: USA Lacrosse was going to host ID camps for the box team that will compete at the 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championships Sept. 20-29 in Utica, N.Y.

Bakes decided to throw her hat into the ring.

“The box opportunity was perfect timing,” Bakes said. “It was the absolutely perfect way to continue doing what I love, most importantly. It’s also a way to satisfy the part of me that wants to work hard at something, get better and have tangible goals to reach.”

Unlike running, box lacrosse offers a chance to work as part of a team, something Bakes wants to do not just in a business setting but also in an athletic one. The good news? Her move to New York City from her family’s Miami home also came with more than a backyard full of road racing and job opportunities.

It was also set near multiple hotbeds for lacrosse — Long Island and New Jersey, to name two — and adult leagues for box. Unlike other roster contenders, she wasn’t playing in Athletes Unlimited or vying for a spot on the USA Lacrosse Women’s National Team for field. Her desk job with more traditional hours left her weeknights and weekends open to play box whenever and wherever she could.

“The only lacrosse goal that’s right in front of me that I’ve been working toward all year has been for the World Championships for box in September,” Bakes said. “That allowed me to go all in.”

Bakes’ ability to carve out opportunities for herself and go all in tracks. Growing up in Miami, she cut her teeth in sports on the diamond playing baseball with the boys. When the time came to switch to softball with the girls, she didn’t like it as much.

“I said, ‘Alright, I’m going to play lacrosse,’” Bakes recalled. “We only had a boys’ team, so that was the only option, and they couldn’t stop me from playing it because there wasn’t a girls’ team at the time.”

When Bakes transitioned to the women’s field game, she had to pull back on the physicality. But she didn’t sacrifice her tenacity, something that stood out to former Georgetown coach Ricky Fried.

Fried initially recruited Bakes out of high school, but she chose USC before expressing an interest in using her fifth year of eligibility at Georgetown. Initially, Fried had to say no because of a credit requirement she couldn’t meet. Bakes had the will to find a way.

“She actually called me back later and said, ‘Well, what if I graduate early?’” Fried said. “I was impressed with her saying, ‘OK, I want to do this, and I’m going to try to find a solution to it as opposed to hearing a no.’”

So, Bakes’ pivot to box lacrosse to continue to play doesn’t surprise Fried. But her sheer love of the game and motivation aren’t all that’s translated onto the turf.

“She doesn’t shy away from contact,” Fried said. “Box has much more contact in it than women’s field lacrosse, so I think that helps her. Stickwork-wise, she’s able to control the ball with that contact.”

Bakes’ foundation in boys’ lacrosse helps with the stickwork (and contact) and has piqued her interest in coming to ID camps.

“When I played field, I had the low cradle, the sidearm shot that just naturally translated from the men’s stick,” Bakes said. “I was definitely excited to have that stick back in my hands because that was where my fundamentals were based.”

Bakes turned that excitement into action, signing up for three leagues. Hunter Francis, the USA women’s box team manager, told her about a pickup league in New Jersey on Wednesdays. There, she learned about a summer league that had open spots. She later joined a winter league.

And she didn’t just stay on the East Coast — she racked up frequent flier miles traveling to tournaments that took her to Texas and San Jose. Along the journey, she met Ross Turco, a player-coach for the Wednesday night pickup team she joined (along with teammates Ally Mastroianni and Kayla Wood). Like Fried, Turco was immediately taken by Bakes’ toughness and love of the game.

“She would take a bus from the city,” Turco said. “She was super dedicated and focused on playing for Team USA.”

Bakes’ hands and ability to generate scoring opportunities also stood out, and the two shared something in common.

“I’m a lefty, she’s a lefty, and Andy Wasik is a lefty,” Turco said. “Watching [Andy and Erin] do their things was neat. She knows how to dodge in a two-man really well and is smart with great vision. She could see the whole floor and knew when to swing it.”

While Bakes was accustomed to and eager to play a more physical game, Turco said getting the mechanics of contact elements like cross-checking took time. But she got the hang of it, in large part because of the experiences she embraced.

Her teammates and most of her male opponents also embraced Bakes, mentoring her and encouraging her along the way. But every once in a while, she’d get a comment.

Much like she’s well-versed in carving out opportunities for herself where there aren’t any, Bakes is used to those, too, something an old baseball coach recalled with her on a recent phone call.

“He reminded me of the time when I was about 13 years old, and other parents would have something to say about a girl being on the other team, which is crazy to think about,” Bakes said. “He always reminded me that he never treated me as the girl on the team, just like another player on the team.”

Bakes has largely found similar support in the leagues she’s played in, but she hopes she and the rest of Team 1 turn women’s box into less of a novelty and open up more opportunities for future generations. She knows the process is a marathon, not a sprint — and she’s proud to be on the starting line of it.

“I hope [little girls] can look at us out there, whether we’re playing against men or other women and see that we’re warriors,” Bakes said. “They can be the exact same way, just with the right attitude. Yes, we 100 percent want to win gold, but I would be remiss to say that the pioneering aspect isn’t important as well. No matter what, we catalyzed growth for the sport, [and I hope it] inspires some younger girls to get a box stick in their hands, whether with boys or with other girls, because it’ll just make them a better player.”

It’s not lost on Turco, whose daughter, Maggie, will play her freshman season in field lacrosse at Hofstra in 2025.

“There are no better role models and examples for young women and girls to follow than on any Team USA roster, but specifically on the box roster that’s going up to Utica,” Turco said. “It’s an incredible opportunity for lacrosse.”