A proud Macatee lineage was long established before Lily Macatee joined North Harford girls lacrosse. She simply continued it.
The youngest of four — two sisters and one brother — was named All-County her senior season with the Hawks, then had a decision to make on where she’d play in college. But in the end, it didn’t take extensive consideration. Following her sister to Division III Gettysburg was the obvious choice.
Macatee recently capped her four-year college career with a stellar senior season. She was named an Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association All-American for the third straight season and was Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, also winning the award in 2023. For the second time in her four seasons, she helped lead Gettysburg to the national semifina. The Bullets were ranked in the top-10 nationally nearly every week of Macatee’s time there, reached the Centennial Conference championship game all four years, and made the national championship contest when she was a sophomore.
For Macatee, her love for lacrosse strengthened at Gettysburg but was formed at North Harford. She recently spoke with The Aegis about her lacrosse career, favorite Hawks memories and what’s next.
What will you remember most about your time at Gettysburg?
Gettysburg is absolutely a place that I would call home. Now that it’s wrapped up, it’s a little bittersweet. It’s just a place where I’ve met my best friends and I’ve made the most incredible experiences on and off the field. All of our wins and even losses have been experiences and moments that I won’t forget. Off the field, though, I think that school is incredible and the people obviously make the place.
Gettysburg was a perennial championship contender during your time there. What drives the program’s success?
It all starts in the fall. We put in work. Obviously, it’s not the most fun part, but it’s gonna pay off in May. We’re always grinding. Our team always was to make it to the national championship, make it to the Centennial Conference championship. It’s kind of become the norm at Gettysburg.
Your older sister also played lacrosse at Gettysburg. What went into your decision to choose the school and how important has family been for your lacrosse career?
It felt like home walking on campus. [My sister] had such a successful time there and just seeing how much fun she had. She just showed that it’s a place that I think I could call home, too. It’s a team that competes at a very high level of lacrosse, but also having academic opportunities to study abroad, which I did do. I also was taking part in other extracurricular activities at Gettysburg, being in a sorority and participating in clubs. It was just an incredible experience. It was pretty much a no-brainer. … [My family has] been my supporters always from day one. Having Claire be my role model at Gettysburg was definitely sweet. She was an incredible lacrosse player and I wanted to do everything she did and more. Having my whole family be there as my supporters every day, they came to every game that they could. My family is definitely a huge part in my success as well.
What are your favorite North Harford memories?
The program meant a lot to me. It’s where I was able to develop my fundamentals. I also feel like I learned how to work hard even when we weren’t winning. I think it really helped me where I am today playing at the collegiate level. I’ll always be grateful for North Harford. I was able to play with my childhood best friends, which is unforgettable. I am still best friends with so many of them.
Do you still follow the program and keep in touch with former coaches and teammates?
I always checked back. I had some younger underclassmen who I was friends with, so I continue to check in on them at North Harford. I continue to stay in touch with our assistant coach, Kristen Dawson. She was our assistant coach during my time at North Harford and I continue to check back up on her. She has a younger daughter I didn’t play with, but I spent some time with at a summer lacrosse camp where I was a counselor. I just continued to stay in the loop. It’s always gonna be home.
Could coaching be in your future? What’s next for you?
It’s a hard goodbye to say that I won’t be playing lacrosse anymore at a competitive level. But I think being a part of the lacrosse community is something I definitely can’t say goodbye to, so I would love to take part in coaching or lessons or anything I can do to allow younger kids to grow. I am headed to Tampa, Florida, for a job opportunity, so I would love to give Florida a little bit of lacrosse and maybe grow in that community because I know Maryland has been so successful with lacrosse. Florida lacrosse is growing, so I would love to take part in that world.
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