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Taylor Pinzone Brings Intangibles to Sun Devil Lacrosse

Cronkite Produced Feature Stories in 2020-21 Opens in a new window
Taylor Pinzone Brings Intangibles to Sun Devil LacrosseTaylor Pinzone Brings Intangibles to Sun Devil Lacrosse

By by Lauren Fountain, Cronkite PR Lab Class of 2022

When the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility for all spring sport athletes in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, lacrosse player Taylor Pinzone knew immediately what she was going to do with her fifth year.

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“I don’t think I ever imagined myself at ASU, but I also never imagined a pandemic to arise. Once we were told that we were going to get our fifth year, it was an easy decision for me to come back and just play lacrosse.” Taylor Pinzone
 
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Pinzone, a midfielder who played four seasons at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, decided to chase “a new experience” and entered the transfer portal, where she was contacted by a familiar face.

Sun Devil Lacrosse Head Coach Tim McCormack spent six seasons at Northwestern as an assistant coach, including one season with Pinzone on the Wildcats’ roster.

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“I’ve known him [McCormack] probably since I was a sophomore in high school when I started getting recruited. I really loved playing under him and I feel like our relationship has just grown stronger over the years. When you look at what he’s done for this program, it’s been incredible. I feel like he’s just putting ASU on the map for lacrosse and he continues to build on that and grow.” 

Taylor Pinzone

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McCormack was selected as the 2021 Pac-12 Coach of the Year. He led Sun Devil Lacrosse to a 10-6 record overall in the 2021 season; the ten wins were the most in a single-season for the program.

“Taylor is a great addition to the program. She will be able to bring a ton of confidence to our group having played in some big-time games. Taylor has already fit in great with our team both as a player and a person. We are very excited to have her out in Tempe.” 

Tim McCormack
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The culture fostered by McCormack and the continued growth of the program attracted Pinzone to ASU. 

“He [McCormack] makes you feel like a part of a family,” Pinzone said. “He always has your back. That was a culture that I was really looking forward to.”

Recalling a matchup between the ‘Cats and the Sun Devils in 2020, Pinzone said, “They [the Sun Devils] were a scrappy, hardworking team.”

“Pac-12 is obviously a very competitive conference, so we would always watch Pac-12 games and you could just see the difference that he [McCormack] was making in this program. That was something that really excited me because I knew that this program was on the rise and has what it takes to be a very competitive team in the NCAA.” Taylor Pinzone
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Pinzone is the only non-freshmen newcomer to Sun Devil Lacrosse, but she is far from the only new face to the program. She is joined by a talented signing class of 12 freshmen, who bring immense potential to the team ahead of the upcoming season, according to Pinzone.

“While we have 12 freshmen, there’s also a lot of us that are older. We have a lot of great leadership and upperclassmen. I hope to help contribute to that success and I’m just really excited for what lies ahead of us during the season.” Taylor Pinzone

During her four seasons at Northwestern, Pinzone made 50 appearances, including all 16 games in the 2021 season. The ‘Cats went 15-1 until their NCAA Final Four loss against No. 3 Syracuse.

“Her versatile skill set was exactly what we were looking for in the offseason. She can create offense, help us in the draw circle and provide another veteran presence in the locker room. I have always enjoyed that she is extremely coachable and has a desire to get better every day.” Tim McCormack
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Though Pinzone tallied 34 goals and six assists on offense while playing in Evanston, she is a strong believer in her new team’s motto of “continuing to grow every day.”

“If you get one percent better every day, that’s 365 days a year you’ve gotten that much better. We’re doing the little things. We have a lot of passion and fire and I think we’re ready to dominate this year It doesn’t matter who we play, we’re just going to enjoy it and be ready to take on any team that lies ahead.” Taylor Pinzone

Pinzone said that “this team has what it takes” to perform at a high level.

“Coming from Northwestern, being a very high-ranked team and everything, I can see all the aspects in this team,” Pinzone said. “We’re dedicated, we’re committed, there’s a ton of competitiveness and I see that with this team and that really excites me.”

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Pinzone is pursuing a master’s degree in applied leadership and management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU. She received her undergraduate degree in communications studies and psychology at Northwestern.

"Our goal is to make it to the tournament and just continue to succeed and grow this program as much as we can in the year that we have.”

Written by Lauren Fountain, a graduate student working for Sun Devil Athletics in the Public Relations Lab at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Originally from Chandler, Arizona, Fountain is a lifelong Sun Devil and will graduate in May 2022.