Rachel Verner is a junior accounting major and women’s lacrosse goalie at Piedmont University. Verner is from Athens, Georgia and first picked up a lacrosse stick in middle school.
“I started playing lacrosse in middle school, because I didn’t make the basketball team, and the travel lacrosse team in my town needed a goalie, so I went for it,” said Verner.
Once she stepped onto the field, it was like love at first sight. Once getting into high school and having a few seasons under her belt, Verner was confident in her ability. When her junior year rolled around, the thought of playing in college was becoming more of a reality.
“I didn’t think I wanted to play in college until COVID hit, and I realized how much I would miss it if it was over in a year,” said Verner.
Verner homed in on her skills and prepared for the next chapter in her life. Once COVID ended, Verner would return to high school and start her quest of finding the college that would be the right pick for her. Verner wanted a school that wasn’t too far from home but far enough for space.
While finding the right school, Verner got an offer from Young Harris University in Young Harris, Georgia. Verner would have been one of four goalies on that roster. Having four goalies on the roster wouldn’t guaranteed Verner a starting position, and Young Harris is two and a half hours from Athens, Georgia, where Verner lives.
“The goalies that were there at the time were really good, and it was two and a half hours from my house in the mountains,” said Verner.
After visiting Young Harris, Piedmont came into the picture. The coaches at Piedmont reassured Verner by letting her know that there was only one goalie on the team, and that she would get equal playing time. Piedmont is 45 minutes from Athens, so it’s not too close for Verner and not too far either.
“My thought process was UGA was too close to home, but I didn’t want to travel too far away. Piedmont was the sweet spot,” said Verner.
Since being at Piedmont, Verner has taken over the starting goalie position on the team. Verner has been a huge component to the women’s lacrosse team at Piedmont, and she plans on making even bigger strides in her career.
This season, Verner is the starting goalie and is helping lead Piedmont women’s lacrosse to their first conference championship in nearly a decade.
“Were undefeated in conference, and we have two really big games coming up that I’m really excited for. I’m super-duper excited to celebrate with my team going into the conference tournament.”
