Jaylen Carr – Sports Editor
After setting four new program records in one game, Bayleigh Takacs, a graduate student, looks to continue her dominating season and help the Owls win the Northeast 10 Championship.
On the Owls’ April 1 matchup versus NE10 (Northeast 10) rival, Franklin Pierce Takacs became the program’s all-time assist leader, breaking the single-game and season record in assists.
“I know the all-time assist record was up for grabs, and that was the only one I knew about,” Takacs said. “That was definitely a goal of mine this season coming back being so close to it.”
Takacs said she credits her teammates for helping her break the record because they have as much to do with her getting assists as her.
“As much it’s me passing the ball and setting people up, it also them catching and finishing,” Takacs said.
So far this season, Takacs leads the Owls in points with 53 and 67 shots.
Attack Karlie Rowe, a graduate student, said she was so proud of her Takacs when she broke the record.
“We both ended last year not knowing if we were going to come back this year,” Rowe said. “We just knew that our work wasn’t finished here yet, and both had something to look forward to.”
Head coach Kevin Siedlecki said she was not surprised by her dominating performance against Franklin Pierce.
“That’s who she is, and that is who she can be,” Siedlecki said.
Rowe said Takacs tries to help the team differently on and off the field.
“She is a major contender on our attack,” Rowe said. “She tries to do everything in her power to get us more points on the board. Off the field, I would just say that she is great to go.”
Rowe said she is the type of teammate that they can vent to or even cry to.
“You can ask her questions, you can complain to her, and she’ll listen to you,” Rowe said.
Takacs said one of the things that she brings to the team is her leadership skills. “I think that’s something that I kind of just grew up seeing in my parents and their roles and jobs that I always admired, so I think that it’s something that kind of natural.”
She also can help focus the team on any task they are required to complete.
“We have a lot of fun and outgoing people on the team,” Takacs said. “I’m one of the ones that rattle everyone in and make sure we remember what we’re here for.”
Siedlecki said Takacs is a tremendous leader and mature in everything she does.
“She commands respect,” Siedlecki said. “She’s been a captain for three years and was voted captain when she was a junior.”
Being a captain as a junior is unheard of, but Siedlecki said the team insisted that Takacs become the leader.
“There is so much she takes off my plate in terms of communication, and I have no doubt everyone’s going to be where they’re supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there,” Siedlecki said.
When the team went on their spring break trip, Takacs helped organize teammates by creating a checklist to ensure everyone had their belongings.
New Jersey native Takacs said she had played lacrosse since the third grade because of her older cousins.
“I played too aggressively in third grade because I watched boys’ lacrosse,” Takacs said. “If you watch men’s and women’s lacrosse, it’s like two different sports.”
Takacs said she fell in love with lacrosse ever since the third grade. But it was not until the eighth grade that lacrosse became more competitive.
Takacs’s father is a Southern alum and was part of the wrestling team. Playing lacrosse has been in the Takacs family for years, and Takacs’s brother plays high school lacrosse currently, and she said it is interesting to see lacrosse from a male perspective.
Takacs said that playing on the same team as her sister, Alexandra, on the lacrosse team on campus in 2019 was a great experience.
“It was definitely such a fun opportunity to be able to play with her,” Takacs said.
Despite the Owls losing three straight games, Takas looks to finish the season strong and help the Owls win NE10s. Siedlecki said Takacs represents the program on and off the field.
“She is the person I want people to think of Southern Connecticut women’s lacrosse,” Siedlecki said. “She represents us in the classroom, she represents us socially, and she represents on the field with her work ethic.”
