The Article below was published in Vol. 135, Issue 1 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on September 20, 2019
By Emily Mosher ‘21
Sports and Layout Editor
First-year kicker Anna Zerilli ‘23, a Massachusetts native, started kicking when she was in seventh grade. Zerilli never saw herself playing football, until she was playing around with a football in the back yard with her dad. “I played soccer basically my whole life and hockey. I never really saw myself ever playing football, but in about seventh grade when me and my dad were playing catch… I started to kick the football to him and he was like ‘oh my God, you’re pretty good at this!’” Zerilli said. Zerilli’s cousin was a kicker in high school and was able to put her in contact with his kicking coach in seventh grade. She was then coached in seventh and eighth grade as a kicker, eventually trying out for the high school team, which she made and was able to play JV until sophomore year. Zerilli’s hometown high school didn’t have football, but she was able to travel to the town
over and play for them while still going to school at her original high school. The team dynamic was more difficult, as Zerelli couldn’t go to school with her team. She likes the relationships she has with her teammates better here at Lake Forest.“Since I didn’t go to school with my teammates since my school didn’t have football, I was basically playing with a bunch of strangers because like… So I get to go to school with them and get to hang out with them afterwards and get to know them,” Zerelli said. Zerelli is still recovering from tearing her ACL about nine months ago but is happy with her placement at Lake Forest. She transferred high schools twice in order to play. “I like it a lot. It’s definitely better than all of the teams I’ve played on because I switched high schools twice so this is like my third football team. Junior year academic-wise I wasn’t doing so good at my high school so I started looking into boarding schools and I ended up doing a year in Hanover, New Hampshire and I didn’t actually get to play football there because I tore my ACL in preseason after getting tackled,” Zerelli said. Zerelli said it was odd being the only woman on an all-men’s team back in high school but now in college it is more normal and she is better adjusted. “It was definitely weird at first especially being a freshman in high school and being the only girl, because I was still [not used to playing with guys.]I got used to it after awhile,” Zerelli said. After tearing her ACL, Zerelli reflects that she usually feels bigger on the field. “Sometimes I forget I am [small]too. Yeah, I feel like if I was bigger I’d me more intimidating or something but whatever,” Zerelli said. Zerelli is very excited for the season. She looks forward to seeing what the team does.“We’re doing really good. It’s really exciting. We’re setting our expectations for the season,” Zerelli said.
Emily Mosher can be reached at moshere@mx.lakeforest.edu
