Emily Cash never has to look far to find a teammate.
Usually, she’s always right there.
Cash is a junior on the New Foundations Charter High School lacrosse team, and she has a great bond with all of her teammates.
But whenever she truly needs to rely on someone, she can just look for Ava Reis, who isn’t just a longtime friend and teammate, she’s also Cash’s stepsister.
“Everyone calls us Parent Trap sisters because we were friends and we got our parents together,” Cash, a Fox Chase native, said with a laugh. “We do everything together. We go to school together, we work together, we’re always together at home. We’re best friends. And we’re always there for each other.
“I’m lucky that I have a connection with a lot of girls on the team. Charlie Gurten, she’s on my team, too, she’s one of my connections through the whole thing, she gave me my biggest confidence boost. And with (Reis), it’s never us going by ourselves, we’re always looking for each other. I’m really lucky to be part of this team.”
They’re lucky to have her.
A soccer player her entire life, Cash began playing lacrosse when she was at LaBrum Middle School.
All it took was a few people to encourage her and she decided to give it a chance.
“All of my friends were playing, so I thought about playing,” Cash said. “And my favorite teacher, my history teacher, was coaching. She told me I should give it a try, so I tried out and I really liked it.
“It’s been great in high school, too. I really like being on this team. Everyone works as a team and I made a lot of friends right away.”
She did have to make some changes, though.
Cash played soccer growing up, and for the Lions, she has settled into the defense for New Foundation in the fall.
She plays a completely different role on the lacrosse team, where she’s not only one of the top scorers on her team, she’s one of the top scorers in the area.
Cash recently netted her 100th career goal, which proves she’s not only a capable scorer this year, she has consistently been helping the Lions.
Not bad for a player who still has a year and a half to go in her high school career.
“Freshman year, I scored a little, but didn’t score too many goals,” said Cash, who is a captain on the team this year. “Sophomore year I started playing better and that gave me a lot more confidence.
“Everyone helped me out, my teammates, my coaches. To score, basically I gained more confidence in myself and I knew my teammates had confidence in me when they would get me the ball. Confidence is one of the biggest reasons (for my success). I stepped up as a leader and a captain, and helping other people helped me gain confidence. It might look like I’m helping them, but the more I work with them, the more I can help someone, I have more confidence in myself.”
Though she considers herself a lacrosse player now, she knows the work she put in when playing soccer helped her a lot.
Both sports require a lot of running, so you have to be fit and have endurance. That’s never been a problem.
“It’s the same in some ways, but completely different in others,” she said. “In soccer, I’m middle defense. We have some very good scorers and offensive players who work really well together. I like being in the back, helping the defense.”
Cash is always willing to help.
Whether it’s her parents, whom she credits with helping her on and off the field, her teammates or her coworkers at her job at Steve Stein’s Famous Deli, Cash is always willing to help.
Even if it means waking up early.
We’re talking really early.
“Sometimes I’ll bake in the back, but usually it’s pricing, cutting bread and giving out bagels,” Cash said. “It’s a great job, working there for about 2½ years. They’re very lenient with my schedule since I always have games. I work weekends, usually at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m.
“It’s both about 10 minutes from my parents’ house, they both live close. Usually I wake up for school at 5:30 anyway, so I wake up every day at 5:30. I knew the schedule was lenient and my stepmom worked there when she was my age. It’s a great job, I love it.”
Almost as much as she loves what she’s doing for New Foundations.
Now that she reached the milestone, she can turn her attention to keeping the team in contention.
She is optimistic it could be a very good season.
“We’re pretty good, we won five or six games, we lost two against Perkiomen and Ryan, but we’ve looked good,” Cash said. “It’s fun, I love scrimmages and nonleague games because it’s great competition and fun working to get better, and we’re doing well in our league.
“I’m really proud of the team. We work hard and we are all together. As a leader, I try to make sure everyone is comfortable and everyone is having fun. I think it’s going great for everyone.”
