The best player in Syracuse women’s lacrosse history is trying to catch her breath.

She probably will not miss the wind sprints, like on a Tuesday afternoon in the Carrier Dome. Another set of conditioning she has done hundreds of times before, in preparation for the 72nd game of her SU career, the most decorated in school history.

She probably will not miss the offensive drills either, which she can sleepwalk through, as the program’s most prolific scorer. She curls around the crease and slips a low, bouncing shot past goalie Liz Hogan in the same ho-hum manner that has become her trademark over four years: relentless excellence, but who’s sweating?

Another practice passes for Katie Rowan, few unlike the rest, always the quiet leader of the Orange women’s lacrosse team, still the unquestioned star of a program that is budding with bright new talents around her. But time is running short.

Unlike Jonny Flynn, she doesn’t have the opportunity to pursue her talents professionally. Unlike Greg Paulus, she can’t prolong her career by switching to another sport in another place.

Rowan will play her last lacrosse game at some point in the next few weeks and that will be it. She’ll walk away from the sport that she has dominated without ever knowing the extent of her athletic prime.

And she’ll be back in Syracuse next year – but as a full-time student. She’s working on getting her masters degree in literacy education.

‘It’s weird,’ Rowan said. ‘But you move on, and go on to other things in your life.’

Coming to a teachers’ lounge near you: a lacrosse giant from a university known for lacrosse. Can she find time to cradle during recess? After four years of omnipresence on the lacrosse field, can she really fade into a classroom so swiftly and quietly?

Quiet is her style; Rowan’s the last person to promote herself. She’s unassuming on the field, silently leading SU in points again this season (84) while becoming the Big East’s all-time leading scorer, the first Syracuse player ever to record 300 career points and moving into seventh on the Division I points list. Her 39 assists this season rank second on SU’s single-season list, but they’re still 30 less than she had less year. For the second year in a row, she’s a Tewaaraton Trophy nominee.

Rowan wanted to always just be like another face in the crowd – which is ironic, considering she made Sports Illustrated’s weekly list last May. She emerged on the scene as a freshman at Bethlehem Central (N.Y.), scoring eight goals in a summer tournament game that turned heads before going on to be an All-American. In her first year at SU, she broke the freshman scoring record.

She’s been the target for opposing teams since, most of which probably spend hours in film sessions trying to decipher exactly how Rowan is able to amass such numbers. She has never been the fastest, quickest, tallest or strongest on the field. After games, she shrugs off her accomplishments with a giggle and a deferment.

Rowan will play for Team USA in Prague this summer on a roster that features the top collegiate players in the country. After that, she’ll decide if she wants to keep trying out again for a spot.

No national lacrosse league. No professional organization. No desire to coach. No other options.

‘That’s really it,’ Rowan said. ‘There are some club teams around in different areas. There’s a few club leagues. But mostly just U.S. national.’

And so the mementos are beginning to pile up for Rowan, who played her final game in the Carrier Dome (unless SU hosts an NCAA tournament game) last week in typical fashion: six assists, zero goals and zero pats on her own back.

‘It’s been a great, great career here at the Dome,’ Rowan said after the game. ‘It was pretty emotional just because it’s been four years here, and we’ve all had great experiences here.’

The practice finishes and Rowan is hustling to gather her things to get to an appointment. She gives a brief interview, dashes out the door and rushes out into another sunny spring afternoon, still with her No. 21 practice jersey on and stick in her hand. Her hurriedness is a sign that there are more things to her life than lacrosse.

But soon enough, lacrosse will be left to the pictures on her wall and the trophies on her mantle. The career of the best player in Syracuse women’s lacrosse history – a wind sprint in the grand scheme of things – will retire swiftly and quietly, and on her terms.

Zach Schonbrun is the sports columnist for The Daily Orange, where his columns appear every Wednesday. He can be reached at zsschonb@syr.edu.

Published on April 21, 2009 at 12:00 pm