Two LCMR lacrosse players to continue careers at college scholarship level

Posted: November 14th 2024

Olivia Lewis (left) and Sophia Vitelli have each signed a National Letter of Intent to play lacrosse at the college scholarship level

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

Lower Cape May Regional High School celebrated two of its top student-athletes Wednesday when Sophia Vitelli and Olivia Lewis each signed a National Letter of Intent to play lacrosse at the college scholarship level.

The pair did so during a ceremony held at Lower Cape May Wednesday afternoon on the first day of the NCAA’s fall signing period, with dozens of family members, friends, coaches and school administrators in attendance.

Vitelli officially committed to Division I Presbyterian College, while Lewis signed with Division II Kutztown University.

PERSISTENCE AND PERFORMANCE HELP VITELLI LAND AT DIVISION I LEVEL

Sophia Vitelli has proven that persistence pays off.

The Lower Cape May Regional High School senior identified Division I Presbyterian College as a place where she wanted to try to continue her lacrosse career. But at first, the feeling from Presbyterian didn’t seem mutual.

“I was emailing them for a few months, but I didn’t hear anything,” Vitelli said. “Then at one of the last tournaments of the summer (with her club team), one of their coaches was there. Their coach came and watched me the whole tournament, all four games I played, and then got in contact with me.”

Vitelli, obviously, had made a good impression.

The goalkeeper said she received an offer of athletic and academic scholarship money that will cover about 70 percent of Presbyterian’s annual tuition. It didn’t take long for Vitelli to accept that offer, verbally committing to the school in late July. She plans to major in engineering and physics.

“I was trying to find a school hitting everything I wanted, with my major and being down in the south in the warmer weather,” she said of Presbyterian, located in Clinton, S.C., about an hour’s drive from the state capital of Columbia.

Vitelli, who will be in her fourth season as a starter at Lower Cape May next spring, is one of the best goalkeepers in program history. Last season, she stopped 163 shots against 164 goals surrendered for a Lady Tiger team that went 12-8, qualified for the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament and advanced to the second round of the state tournament. In addition to her keen shot-stopping ability, Vitelli’s precision distribution after making a save or collecting a ground ball often leads to quick counter-attacking opportunities for her teammates.

“Soph, as a goalie, has really emerged as a leader,” Lower Cape May girls lacrosse coach JoAnn McLaughlin said. “We’ve had some of the best seasons in LCMR history with her in the cage. I definitely think she can go to college and compete as a freshman at the Division I level. She’s played for a high-level club team for a while now so she knows what it’s like to play tough competition.”

Although still with one more season of high school lacrosse yet to play, Vitelli is eagerly anticipating competing at Presbyterian, which competes in the Division I Big South Conference.

“I’m so excited,” said Vitelli, who also played tennis as a junior and senior at Lower Cape May. “It’s such a crazy thing to think about. I dreamed about this and now I’ll be able to do it.”

Vitelli, who takes AP classes and holds a 4.5 grade-point average at Lower Cape May, had also received Division I offers from Youngstown State, Mercer and UMass-Lowell.

LEWIS MAKES IT OFFICIAL WITH KUTZTOWN

Olivia Lewis of the Lower Cape May Regional High School girls lacrosse team verbally committed to continue her career at Division II Kutztown about a year ago.

But when the senior midfielder officially put pen to paper on Wednesday to accept the Pennsylvania school’s offer, emotions hit a little differently.

“It makes it feel so much more real,” Lewis said. “It’s a very bittersweet feeling knowing I’m leaving this place because I’ve been here in this area for my whole life but I’m so excited to play at the next level. It’s been my dream since I was in the fifth grade to play at the next level. Getting to finally officially pursue that is just awesome.”

Lewis scored 27 goals and posted a team-best 42 assists last spring for Lower Cape May. As a sophomore, she was responsible for 23 goals and 28 helpers.

She’s put up impressive numbers despite playing away from her natural position.

“Liv’s an attacker but our team needed a midfielder and she’s been willing to do that,” Lower coach JoAnn McLaughlin said. “She’s really emerged as a leader. Watching her from learning to be able to pass and throw the ball when she was in grammar school to what she’s become as a player now has been amazing.”

Lewis is one of the more well-rounded student-athletes at Lower Cape May. She has also played field hockey and basketball as a high school athlete and also spearheads the school’s efforts to promote Morgan’s Message, a non-profit organization that, according to its website, strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health issues within the student-athlete community. Through her work with Morgan’s Message initiatives, Lewis was honored last March by the Al Carino Girls Basketball Club of South Jersey as one of two winners of the club’s 2023-2024 Most Courageous Award.

Lewis, who is enrolled in AP classes and carries a 4.9 grade-point average at Lower Cape May, plans to major in psychology at Kutztown. She said she is receiving a small amount of athletic scholarship money but will also be significantly aided financially after earning one of Kutztown’s presidential scholarships.

“It is such a blessing,” Lewis said. “I am beyond grateful for the opportunity that I have. It’s just amazing. I’m so excited. I started playing lacrosse in third grade and it’s always been such a love of mine. When I got to around fifth or sixth grade, I just felt like I didn’t want this to end after high school.”