Comsewogue Senior Heads to Championship Lacrosse Team at Adelphi

It’s nice to have choices, especially if you are a high school senior and it would seem that three-sport sensation Michelle Rubino has made the most of hers by chosing to attend Adelphi University next year to play lacrosse from the multiple colleges recruiting her for all the sports she plays.

Rubino excelled in three sports–soccer, basketball and lacrosse–rather than choose one and specialize in it but when it came to her future she selected only one, the one she has played least throughout her athletic life.

“I always played basketball since the second grade and went to all my sister's games,” said Rubino. “But my brother played lacrosse and I always played with him in the backyard. He really helped me out.”

Rubino agreed to attend Adelphi University where she plans to play lacrosse for the three-time AA Division II national champion Panthers. Rubino had the rare opportunity to select from colleges in three different sports all of which were vying for her to attend their higher education institution.

With that kind of record it might appear to be a simple choice, but given the caliber of institutions she had to chose from, it wasn't easy at all. Schools such as Sacred Heart in Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and the University of Massachusetts and Adelphi University in Garden City all wanted her.

Ultimately it came down to being close to home. 

Adelphi has agreed to give Rubino a 75 percent scholarship to play lacrosse. She says that was not her original intention.

“I wanted to go to college to play basketball,” Rubino said. “I had been playing basketball since I was very young but I felt like I wasn’t going to get any better and I really just started playing lacrosse in the seventh grade. I just felt that I had a lot of room to grow there. Besides I really liked the campus and it was close to home.”

As a Warrior lacrosse midfielder, Rubino scored 89 goals and collected 51 assists over her four year career. She also grabbed a total of 61 ground balls for the Warriors.

“She is the best athlete I’ve ever coached,” said Comsewogue head lacrosse coach Nicole Kidd. “She understands the game and sees things that the other girls don’t.”

Rubino earned All-Suffolk County honors this year as well as in 2010. She was an honorable mention All-Suffolk County honoree in 2009 and received All-Division honors as a freshman in 2008. And that was just in lacrosse.

Rubino also shined in both soccer and basketball. In the fall she played sweeper for the Warriors girls soccer team and in the winter she was a point guard for the basketball team.

“She is an amazing, amazing athlete,” said Comsewogue head soccer coach, James Bentley. “The most amazing athlete I’ve ever coached."

Because she was a defensive player there are no offensive statistics to pass on except that she led the defense.

“She was a defensive presence for us,” said Bentley. “She was one of our top players.”

Unfortunately, Rubino’s senior year didn’t get off to a great start. She rolled her ankle on the second day of fall practice and missed almost the entire season. Displaying her leadership quality she came back in the final home game of the season against Hills West, a game the Warriors won 1-0 to clinch a playoff spot but lost in the opening round to Connetquot 3-0.

This past winter, fully recovered from her injury she earned her second consecutive All-Suffolk County honor averaging 9.5 point-per-game, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 steals-per-game. Once again it was her athleticism that set her apart from the competition.

“Michelle is one of the best defensive players I’ve ever coached,” said Mt. Sinai basketball coach Justin Seifert. “And she is one of the best athletes I have ever seen as a coach and a player."

Seifert said that she was "like a second coach on the court" because she led her team by example.

"I suspect that she will make an immediate impact in college with her speed and her athleticism," he said.

So what kind of expectations does a freshman lacrosse player have about joining a team that has won three straight Division II NCAA championships and finished 2011 with a perfect 20-0 record?

“I’m going to play midfield and I hope I can help them to another championship,” said Rubino. “But I’m a little nervous playing for a team that’s won three straight championships.”

Unfortunately the person who recruited her–former Rocky Point head coach Joe Spallina–has just accepted a position to coach the Stony Brook Seawolves girls lacrosse team. Spallina led Adelphi to three national titles and a sterling 73-2 record. But the Panthers remain a who’s who of Suffolk and Nassau lacrosse all stars.

It seems like Michelle Rubino should fit right in.