Women's Lacrosse 3/20/2023 10:00:00 AM Omar Ricardo Aquije

Shari Krasnoo ’91: A lacrosse legend

An unstoppable force for women’s lacrosse, Krasnoo set program records that may never be broken

Shari Krasnoo '91 arrived at a freshman/JV lacrosse scrimmage at her high school, having barely played the sport.

Her only experience came from a crash course she received from a varsity lacrosse player, who was appointed by the coach to give her a quick lesson.

That would be more than enough for Krasnoo.

She scored five goals in the first half. Her audition, which was supposed to include a crack at playing goalie, was over.

"I went to the coach at halftime and said, 'Should I put the goalie gear on?' She looked at me and said, 'You're never going to play goalie again,'" said Krasnoo.

"It was the first game I ever played. I didn't know exactly what I was doing. It was a new sport to me. I guess I was pretty good at it," she said laughing.

The scrimmage would be a preview of Krasnoo's remarkable career as an attacker. Not only did Krasnoo blossom into an exceptional athlete at Wayland High School outside Boston, she went on to become one of the most dominant players in NCAA women's lacrosse history as a Colgate Raider.

While playing Colgate lacrosse, she led the nation in scoring for three consecutive seasons. In the latter of those seasons, she recorded a whopping 85 goals and 20 assists for 105 points as a senior. The single-season goal total put her at No. 1 in program history. She's also second and third all-time in goals with 61 apiece.

Her 105 points in one season is a program record. She's second (89) and fourth (80) in that category at Colgate.

Shari Krasnoo women's lacrosse — Shari Krasnoo (No. 19) with the lacrosse team in her junior year.

Krasnoo is the program leader in points (324) and goals (245). She's second all-time in assists with 79.

Her 4.45 goals per game ranks second in NCAA women's lacrosse history.

Her extensive list of honors includes becoming the first woman from Colgate to be named All-American by the U.S. Women's Lacrosse Association First Team in 1991. She made the All-Patriot League First Team, the Patriot League All-Decade Team, and the Patriot League 25th All-Anniversary Team.

Krasnoo was named Outstanding Offensive Player all four years at Colgate, and she was awarded the 1991 Patriot League Player of the Year.

She earned eight varsity letters playing soccer and lacrosse for the Raiders while being a double major in anthropology/sociology and education.

As a freshman, she considered playing basketball, but scrapped the idea. While she successfully juggled three sports in high school, the demands of higher education made it impracticable. Basketball would have also cut into the lacrosse season.

And Krasnoo was a lacrosse player at heart.

Next fall, Colgate will recognize Krasnoo for her outstanding lacrosse career by retiring her No. 19. She will be the first women's lacrosse player at the University to receive the honor.

"To be the first person to have their number retired is special," Krasnoo said. "But I hope it's not the last. I hope this opens the door to more. There have been many great players over the years."

Shari Krasnoo women's soccer — While she dominated in lacrosse, Krasnoo was an exceptional soccer student-athlete.

When discussing her dominance in lacrosse, Krasnoo credited her teammates, who had to move the ball up the field and set her up to shoot.

"I needed the goalie to make the save," she said. "I needed the goalie to make the clear to the defender. I needed a teammate to pass me the ball. None of those goals happen without my teammates. I truly believe that. I'm super thankful that I had great teammates that I still to this day speak with."

SETTING THE FOUNDATION
When it was time to find a college, Krasnoo's options were limited.

She wanted to leave her hometown of Wayland, Mass. without going too far. And she wanted to play lacrosse and soccer at a Division I program.

But in the 1980s, the popularity of women's lacrosse was still growing. Only a few dozen universities offered it. A few more decades would pass before women's lacrosse became a common sport at colleges.

Krasnoo wanted to study at an institution with a robust academic program. While Boston offered options that were near her home, she wanted a college in a country setting.

After visiting Cornell, Krasnoo stopped at Colgate on a summer day and was quickly sold.

"I said 'This is where I want to go to school,'" she said.

Krasnoo, a recruit, joined Colgate Women's Lacrosse at a time when the program was still in its early stages.

When Colgate became a co-ed university in 1970, it welcomed its first class of women. Club sports for women were established immediately. As popularity in women's sports grew, club teams sought varsity status.

In 1973, lacrosse along with basketball, field hockey, swim and dive, tennis, and volleyball became the first women's club teams to go varsity.

Meanwhile, other colleges adopted a co-ed format. And women continued to push for equality and more opportunities in all sectors of higher education, including athletics.

The movement received an enormous boost from Title IX, a bill signed by President Richard Nixon that barred discrimination on the basis of gender.

Today, women's teams account for 13 of the 25 varsity sports at Colgate. Women make up nearly half of all Colgate student-athletes. This year, the University is celebrating five decades of women's varsity sports.

Women from the 1970s and 1980s built the foundation for Colgate women's sports, although the later generations also played a crucial role in turning Colgate Athletics into what it is today.

By playing lacrosse and soccer, and storming onto the record books, Krasnoo did her part in helping to advance the growth of athletics for women. She's proud to have been given the opportunity.

"The opportunity to play sports at Colgate was invaluable for me and so many other women," she said. "Not only does collegiate athletic participation provide opportunities for women to compete at a high level, it also provides women with the life skills needed to succeed after college.

"Female athletes are more confident, better communicators, have a deeper understanding of the value of a strong work ethic and a willingness to fight through adversity, while also learning how to be a leader and a good follower."

HER COLGATE EXPERIENCE
As a student-athlete, Krasnoo developed special memories that she'll never forget.

In her freshman year, she joined the women's soccer team and played a game with her father in attendance. Knowing her father was watching was a significant moment for Krasnoo. It would be the last time her dad saw her play before he passed away.

Another highlight happened in the fall of 1990, when the soccer team finished 11-6-2 and won the conference championship in the league's inaugural season (no playoffs were held that year). Krasnoo, a senior co-captain, was named Patriot League Player of the Year.

In her final season with lacrosse, Krasnoo helped lead the team to the conference tournament for the first time in program history. At the time, the program was part of the ECAC because the Patriot League didn't have a women's lacrosse league. Being part of that historic team was a special honor for Krasnoo.

She vividly remembers becoming Colgate's all-time leading scorer in lacrosse. It happened when she was a junior. The Raiders were playing Bucknell, and her family was in attendance.

Going into the game, she needed eight goals to pull off the historic feat. She did it in the first half.

"It was awesome," Krasnoo said. "Admittingy, I was counting."

Krasnoo's lacrosse career continued after she graduated from Colgate. She played for the U.S. lacrosse team, participating in two international games. She also went into coaching.

For the next 14 years, she coached lacrosse at Washington Lee University in Lexington, Va., Trenton State College in New Jersey, Monmouth, and Boston College.

At Trenton, a D-III program, she won two national titles with the lacrosse team. She was also an assistant coach for field hockey, taking the team to two Final Fours.

After five years with Boston, she changed careers, wishing to try something new. She shifted to the private sector, working as a recruiter for various companies before joining Bose as a manager of recruitment, where she's employed today.

Krasnoo, however, hasn't completely walked away from lacrosse. Last year, she volunteered to help the lacrosse coach at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. She continues to coach on a part-time basis, but no longer as a volunteer.

She credits her Colgate education for giving her the background that made it easier to transition to the corporate field.

"Anyone who goes to a school like Colgate knows the value of a liberal arts education," she said. "It helps you in all aspects of life. So many things I learned in the classroom are things I hold to this day."

Reflecting on her days as a Raider, Krasnoo said she's proud to have played for Colgate.

"It was an honor to represent Colgate," she said. "It wasn't as if Colgate was a household name in the lacrosse world at the time. To play at Colgate, to be a student-athlete at an academically-minded school like Colgate, and then to succeed on the field and bring the team to a national ranking was special."

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