It is uncommon for a lacrosse student-athlete to play all four years of college due to the learning curve necessary for incoming players, but for senior women’s lacrosse goalie Lexie Coldiron, this is only one of her many accomplishments.
Coldiron’s save percentage is currently 13th in the nation, and she has the chance to hit 500 career saves by the end of this season.
“Lexie has an extremely hard work ethic and I think she’s always out there putting in extra work,” said Katie McConnell, the women’s lacrosse head coach. “So, I think for from an entire team standpoint, she does set a really nice standard.”
Coldiron first started playing sports at age five. Lacrosse became her go-to sport when softball proved to be too slow-paced.
In high school, Coldiron played club lacrosse and then played varsity during her senior year.
“So, you play for your high school team and then you mainly get recruited through applying for your club team, but you’re playing girls from different states, different clubs,” Coldiron said. “So, you’re getting various levels of lacrosse.”
After being recruited to play Division I lacrosse at Lafayette, Coldiron immediately noticed that she had to adapt her gameplay.
“When you get to college, the pace picks up because I know now it’s a rule in high school that there’s a 90-second shot clock,” Coldiron said. “That was the biggest transition point for me.”
In her first year playing for Lafayette, Coldiron made the 2021 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selection, played in two of six games of the shortened conference-only season, had only three goals allowed and made five saves facing 11 shots.
In her sophomore year, Coldiron started in 14 games and ended the season with 131 total saves in 432 shots faced.
“I think she’s improved on her positions in the cage,” said Nikki Prestiano, an assistant coach for the team. “I think sometimes when you’re a goalie and someone’s running at you to take a shot, it’s very easy to jump at the first fake that someone may throw, so she’s really worked on her explosions through the shot and coming all the way through to make those saves happen.”
In the 2023 season, Coldiron was elected to the All-Patriot League Second Team and started in all 17 games. Coldiron competed for over 995 minutes, made 190 saves on 586 shots faced and earned a save percentage of .444.
“I think that Lexie is really putting her body on the line and truly is fearless,” said Sarah Bennett, a 2023 graduate of the team who is now an assistant coach. “She is throwing her body in front of these shots and is so quick and so focused and dialed in that there is really nothing about the opponent or other shooters that is getting into her head. She has one focus — it’s the ball — and she is doing anything to prevent that ball from getting in the goal.”
Coldiron has 119 saves in 372 shots faced this season and is just 55 saves short of 500 saves with four regular season games left to play.
“She’s probably the best goalie I’ve ever played with and I’m hoping that in the next couple of games, she’ll be able to hit 500 saves and hopefully, finally win goalie of the week which she deserves,” senior defender Emma Ruckh said.
Coldiron, a biology major, sees her accomplishments as a product of her growth as an athlete and a scholar.
“I think I’m just really proud of my journey and not a lot of people get to experience something like this,” Coldiron said. “I mean, it’s super hard, super trying at times, but super rewarding in the end, because it’s almost like nothing can be as tough as balancing the rigor of Lafayette’s academics and having to put those 25 hours of work in each week also.”
Grace Sanborn ’25 contributed reporting.
