In the first game of her senior season last Wednesday, Shawnee High School’s Liza Barr scored her 100th career high school goal in the Renegades’ 19–4 win over Cherry Hill High School East.
After watching her ball soar over the right shoulder of Cherry Hill East goalkeeper Emily Millspaugh, Barr was mobbed by her teammates and family as they presented her with posters, flowers and the ball she scored with.
As exciting as the occasion was for Barr, she said it was also a gift for someone very close to her.
“It’s my dad’s birthday,” Barr said with a smile, “so happy birthday to him.”
Sharing the milestone with her family and teammates was extremely important to Barr. Head coach Julie McGrory described Barr as a selfless leader who always puts the team first.
“She’s a very great communicator,” McGrory said. “She really cares about her team. She really cares about the girls.”
When asked about the milestone, Barr downplayed it a little bit. As excited as she was to score 100 goals, she admitted she’s more concerned with the team’s record than how many goals she has scored.
“It’s always something I aspired to, but honestly I kind of just play the game,” Barr said. “I don’t worry about stats too much.”
Barr was happy to reach 100 career goals in a game where her team won. The Renegade offense was outstanding for most of the game, scoring four goals late in the first half to open up an 8–3 halftime lead. Shawnee ran away with the game in the second half, scoring 11 times.
Barr was a central part of the offensive explosion, scoring six goals and adding two assists in the game. Barr’s sixth and final goal was the 100th in her career.
“I didn’t really care if I reached it today or not,” Barr said. “It’s a long season and I just really cared about my team playing well and getting the win.”
McGrory said Barr’s ability to communicate and help run the offense will be crucial throughout the 2016 season.
“She really takes control of the offense,” McGrory said. “She helps the younger girls. She’s been doing great in the preseason. Today she did great.”
“It’s a testament to what a great player she is,” McGrory added of Barr’s milestone.
“She’s had a great three seasons.”
Barr is a very experienced lacrosse player, having begun the sport when she was in elementary school.
“I used to play softball until third grade,” she said. “My parents had to tell me to make a choice, because the older I got, the more serious everything was.”
“Lacrosse is the fastest game on two feet,” Barr added about choosing lacrosse over softball. “I loved playing it. I loved running around.”
Beginning in 2009, Barr began playing for South Jersey Select lacrosse under head coach K.C. Knobloch who also coaches for Moorestown High School’s powerhouse girls’ lacrosse program. Barr said playing under Knobloch helped her become the player she is today.
Off the field, Barr said her parents, Brian and Jennifer, have been her biggest supporters.
“They’ve supported me unconditionally,” she said. “They’ve driven me to practice, drive me to states in 100-degree weather in the summer. They help sometimes if I’m not playing well with what I need to work on. I’m so glad they could be out there with me today.”
Barr will continue her lacrosse career at Division III Gettysburg College next year. However, right now Barr is focused on helping Shawnee achieve greatness this year. She admitted the team was disappointed when it lost in the South Jersey Group IV championship to rival Lenape, 10–7, last year.
“Last season didn’t go quite the way we wanted,” Barr said. “We knew that first game had to set the tone of the season. We knew it was important to come out strong. That’s we did today.”
