Athletic aspirations
Sophia LoCicero
Sophia LoCicero
Year: Graduate Student
Major: Speech-language pathology
Hometown: Lynbrook, N.Y.
From an early age, Sophia LoCicero ’22 knew she wanted to play college sports.
“I wanted to be able to follow in my parents and siblings’ footsteps,” LoCicero said.
Growing up with three older siblings, LoCicero found herself tagging along to practices and clinics. She would use any excuse to pick up a lacrosse stick and play. Both of her parents were Division I athletes, and her brothers played college lacrosse.
Following their example ignited her love for lacrosse. LoCicero found ECU matched her academic and athletic goals. Her sister Gabrielle is a 2018 graduate of the College of Education.
“The moment I stepped onto ECU’s campus for a visit, I immediately knew this would be the school I would attend,” she said. “The atmosphere of ECU and the pride for purple and gold made it feel like home.”
LoCicero’s success extended from the classroom to the lacrosse field. She received the Pat Draughon Postgraduate Scholarship award from ECU athletics and the American Athletic Conference’s Commissioner’s Postgraduate Leadership Award. Both provided her $5,000 post-graduate scholarships.
LoCicero completed her undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders with magna cum laude distinction and is pursuing a master’s degree in speech-language pathology. She plans to begin a clinical fellowship to become a licensed speech-language pathologist.
“For me, ECU has been a home away from home,” she said. “ECU allowed me to continue my athletic and academic aspirations. It was a no-brainer to stay at ECU to complete my master’s degree.”
LoCicero played five seasons as an attack position player for ECU lacrosse, scoring 51 goals in 56 games. She scored a season-high four goals against Vanderbilt this past season. She and her team made the AAC playoffs for two consecutive years.
“Playing for ECU is special to me for many reasons. I was (part of ) the second recruiting class in program history. My fellow class members and I had the opportunity to create a culture and history for the program at ECU,” LoCicero said.