« Lacrosse 2013

Chris LaPierre

School
Virginia
Position
Midfield
Major
History
G
0
A
0
PTS
0
GB
3
SV%
-
GAA
-

Classroom

Chris is a History major on track to graduate in May. He is a member of the UVa Athletic Honor Roll. Chris is a very dedicated student who possesses impeccable integrity, ambition and character, and understands the importance and value of an education. He will graduate in four years from Forbes’ No. 1 public non-military college, despite the rigors of the men’s lacrosse schedule.

Character

Chris’ character is evident by the trust of his teammates, as they voted him the first solo team captain at UVa since 1981. The No. 3 recruit in the nation coming out of high school, LaPierre has been the consummate teammate by taking care of the dirty work, the things that don’t garner acclaim in the media or box scores. He has taken the responsibility like a badge of honor and helped UVa to the 2010 ACC title as a freshman and the NCAA title as a sophomore. Chris always has time for those around them, whether its the fans after a game or the media. He brings the same class to post-game interviews in victory and defeat. A lot of his character can be defined in his community outreach.

Community

Chris is an active member of UVa’s A.C.E. program, Athletes Committed to Community and Education. He volunteers weekly at Walker Upper Elementary School and works with a 5th grade math class, an 8th grade English class with special needs students. Chris also volunteers at the Charlottesville SPCA Animal Shelter where he plays with socially awkward cats and dogs who have either been abused or neglected for the purpose of making them more comfortable being around humans, upping their chances for adoption. He also is involved with various community-outreach programs — including teaming up with UVa men’s lacrosse teammates to handle race logistics for the annual Gene Arnold Memorial Virginia Area 3 Special Olympics Pepsi 10k Run. Chris is involved with two other community outreach programs that were born during his time at UVa by former teammates and has helped continue their run. Lacrosse Mustache Madness was founded in 2009 to help awareness for prostrate cancer. The past three years the money raised has gone to the HEADstrong Foundation, which funds cancer research and supports families and survivors of blood cancer. Chris has been a part of that outreach all three years of its existence as the event each November has raised over $300,000 since Nov. 1, 2009. The second outreach founded during LaPierre’s UVa career was the Will Barrow Memorial Flag Football Tournament. The tournament helps raise funds for the underfunded UVa HELP Hotline, a suicide prevention service through UVa’s Madison House.

Competition

It has been said its harder to make All-ACC than it is to be named an All-American in lacrosse. Chris is a two-time All-ACC performer, almost unheard of as a short-stick defensive midfielder. A force in the middle of the field, he has led UVa in ground balls the last two seasons and is a two-time USILA All-American. He earned third-team honors in 2011 in helping UVa to the NCAA title and he followed up with second-team honors in 2012. LaPierre’s presence is so important to UVa, Inside Lacrosse has recognized the primarily defensive midfielder as a preseason first-team All-American in their Face-Off Yearbook, honors normally bestowed on offensive players. Doing most of the dirty work, LaPierre is defined on the field by such plays like jumping in front a potential game-tying shot against Princeton in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. He took the blocked shot off the chest and UVa preserved the victory and advanced.