Every Monday, the Sports Information Department at Purchase will select a staff member, student-athlete or event to highlight in our #MeetEmMonday feature. Today's #MeetEmMonday is about Purchase College women's lacrosse senior Gabriella Castles!
PURCHASE, N.Y. - 11 days from now,
Gabriella Castles will take the field for the start of her senior season as a member of the Purchase College women's lacrosse team.
Over the previous three seasons, Castles (Bethpage, NY) has established herself as one of the best players in the program's history.
In 2018, Gabby burst onto the scene as a freshman, finishing with the third-most points (48), goals (35), assists (13) and shots (65) among the team. Additionally, she led the Panthers in free-position shots with 15 and tied for the team lead in free-position goals with nine. Castles also recorded 47 draw controls, 26 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers to cap off her debut campaign.
With the added firepower of Castles, mixed with the talents of the program's two greatest scorers,
Zoe Hines '18 and
Kelly Turtell '18, the Panthers finished the 2018 season with a 7-6 record and just missed the playoffs.
While Castles and Purchase missed out on postseason play, the Bethpage native was recognized by the Skyline Conference with a spot on the All-Skyline Conference Second Team at the conclusion of the season.
Following the graduation of Hines and Turtell, Castles became the de facto No. 1 scoring option for the Panthers as a sophomore.
As a result, she easily led the team in most offensive categories, including points (40), goals (37), shots (81), shooting percentage (.457), shots on goal (66), free-position shots (29) and free-position goals (17). She also finished third on the team in draw controls (30), fourth in ground balls (24) and tied for third in caused turnovers (9).
At the end of the 2019 season, Gabby once again earned Skyline Conference recognition with another All-Skyline Second Team nod.
For her junior year, Castles and the Panthers were limited to just one game because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that, it was evident that Gabby was primed to have another successful campaign for Purchase College.
In the team's lone contest, an 18-2 win over Centenary University, Castles recorded six points (three goals, three assists), seven ground balls, four draw controls and two caused turnovers.
While Castles enjoyed a stellar start to the 2020 season, it was actually her best friend and classmate,
Madeline Mecca, who dominated the contest with 10 points (7g, 3a).
As the team prepares for its 2021 season opener next week, it's easy to hypothesize that Castles and Mecca will once again carry the offensive workload for the Panthers during their senior seasons.
Luckily, we won't have to wait long to find out the answer, as the Purchase College women's lacrosse team is set to kickoff the season on March 12th at the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
