Marley Ciferri’s toughest critic was her high school lacrosse coach. Her biggest fan was her mother. But for Ciferri, the two opposites were embodied in the same person.

And both of her mother’s personas wanted her daughter to succeed at lacrosse.

‘Having your mother as your coach was definitely difficult, but it was so rewarding,’ Ciferri said. ‘It was awesome and it was challenging at the same time. I couldn’t ask for a better coach.’

Ciferri, a freshman attack on the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team, has been shaped by her mother’s enthusiasm for lacrosse. Ciferri jokes that when she was grounded in high school, she wasn’t allowed to leave the house until she went through lacrosse drills.

Cifferi and the No. 6 Orange open their season Friday at 4 p.m. against Colgate in the Carrier Dome.

She has been surrounded by the sport since she was a child, and she attributes her growth as a player to the proximity of such an experienced coach.

Her constant exposure to lacrosse factored into her dream of playing in college, a dream that seemed realistic at a young age. A highly touted recruit out of Ithaca, N.Y., Ciferri began to draw interest from top Division I schools before she was even ready to consider a future destination.

‘(When) I went to my first recruiting tournament, the (former) UConn coach came up and asked for all of my information and where I was looking,’ Ciferri said. ‘I laughed and said, ‘You know, I’m only in seventh grade.”

From there, Ciferri went on to participate in more recruiting tournaments. She began to play for a club team in Syracuse. She continued to draw attention from schools such as Connecticut and Duke. But Ciferri said that she wanted to play at the best school that she possibly could.

She decided that school would be Syracuse not long after her official visit, Ciferri said. Her decision meant that she would be making the transition from playing for her mother to playing for Syracuse legend Gary Gait. While the transition of dealing with the fast-paced nature of college lacrosse has been difficult, Ciferri has nothing but respect for her new coach.

‘I knew that with Gary coming in he was going to make this program amazing, and that’s exactly what he’s done,’ Ciferri said. ‘He definitely exceeded all expectations and it’s really a privilege to play for him.’

Gait has experience coaching greats like Katie Rowan. Winning three championships as a player and seven as an assistant coach has helped him identify Ciferri’s strong suits at this point in her young career.

‘Marley’s been great,’ Gait said. ‘She’s a solid attack, very talented with an opportunity to really develop through this year and be a part of our team.’

Ciferri entered Syracuse surrounded by hype, but being one of seven freshmen on attack provides a challenge to seeing some playing time. Gait said that Ciferri likes to play the low attack position and distribute the ball to her teammates, a skill that she has been working on heavily since practice began.

On top of transitioning coaching styles, Ciferri is dealing with transitioning into the pace of college lacrosse. Teammates praised her work ethic, trying to pick up the new strategies of higher-level competition.

‘When you come in as a freshman, it’s really hard,’ said senior attack Halley Quillinan, who currently ranks sixth in Syracuse history in goals. ‘They’re learning the motion of the game and it’s faster on both ends. I think the freshmen have really hit the ground running.’

Although Ciferri may not immediately be able to step into the lineup for the Orange, she maintains the dedication for the game that she inherited from her mother at a young age. Her determination and love for Syracuse has already made an effect on teammates, and Quillinan said she anticipates Ciferri’s eventual contribution to the team.

‘She grew up with a lot of Orange in her blood, and we’re excited to have her here,’ Quillinan said. ‘I think you’ll see a lot out of Marley this year and in years to come.’

jakrakow@syr.edu