Senior Kate Miller is coming off an excellent start to the season and is looking forward to the team’s continued success. Miller is trying to make her senior campaign a memorable one.

The diplomatic history major is very focused right now and is a strong contributor to the Quakers’ success this season.

Miller knows that everyone on the team will have to be involved for its goals for the season to be reached.

"This season has been an exciting one. As a team we have very high expectations and we have been successful at accomplishing goals that no other Penn team has been able to achieve. We have been nationally ranked for the majority of our season and I take great pride in helping build this team's name and program."

Miller has the Ivy League title in sight and there’s nothing that she and her team would want more. She also knows that it will take some extra effort from herself as well.

"Since I have been a freshman, I have wanted our team to be Ivy League Champions,” she said. “I want our team to earn respect and have other teams fear playing us. Also, I have personally focused on becoming the best one on one defender and the most aggressive defender I can be, so I can make things happen on the field. I want to be the defender who helps start the fast break so the attack can score a goal. I want to end every game feeling that I gave it everything I had to give.

“Mainly I wanted to play every game with heart and soul. I wanted to make sure that I have no regrets after my last season comes to an end, but more importantly I want my teammates to feel the fire that I play with and hopefully motivate them to play with the same desire and heart as I do."

In collegiate lacrosse it is very common to see the same competition as you progress through school. The same teams are on the schedule year after year and there are definitely some games that Miller has circled on her calendar this season as standing out from the rest.

Miller said, "Before my career ends I want to have beaten every Ivy League team. I wanted to beat Yale more than anything and I knew going into that game that I was not going to lose to them. Looking forward, I would love to beat Princeton. They are team that everyone gives credit to because of their name and I would like to be part of the Penn team that breaks their win streak. However, Loyola is the game that I absolutely want to win. They also have a national reputation as a great lacrosse program and when we beat them we will be the one's creating the great reputation for ourselves. I also have a friend from high school on that team and I would love to see the look on her face after Penn wins the game."

Lacrosse is a total team game and Miller knows the importance of how well a team works together on the field.

“I love being part of a sport where team work is necessary to win. It is a great feeling to win a game when you know that everyone has contributed and given 100 percent. Lacrosse is also a great sport to play because if a team comes out and wants it bad enough you can surprise another team and take control and win the game."

For the team to reach its goal of the Ivy League title they will need good leadership and according to co-captain Miller, leadership is definitely present for the Quakers.

"There have been great leaders in front of me who have taught me many valuable traits that are essential in being a great leader. I try my best to be a leader who is positive and believes in the success of the team. I give it my all when I play and I hope to lead by example and to encourage others to always go hard and never give up. I also try to be a very vocal leader who motivates and encourages her teammates when they are having a good day or a bad day. I want every player to feel that they have an important role on this team and I want my whole team to feel as if they contributed to a win."

An important component of a team’s success is its chemistry. For Miller, that chemistry is very prevelant. "My life has been enriched by all the people on this team, including my coaches. I feel as if I have grown not only as a player but as a person from playing, learning and interacting with all of the people on my team. I have loved every moment of my experience as a Penn athlete, the good and the bad. In terms of the good I have made special everlasting friendships with my teammates and have fond memories with all of them. The struggles have made me realize how tough I am and how far determination will get you. Overall, the best part about being a member of this team is that no matter how hard it got, there was always someone supporting and encouraging you to keep trying and to do your best."

Kate Miller believes in the character and ability of her team and that trust will take them far as they finish their Ivy League stretch in hopes of ending her collegiate career on a high note.

~Written by Von Bryant, a sophomore in Wharton and a member of the Penn football team