May Player of the Month: Lexi Erdolino
May Player of the Month: Lexi Erdolino
The captain and leading scorer for the City Honors rugby team, Lexi Erdolino led her side to a strong showing in Western New York and Tier II of the Girls HS National Championships, but that isn't fully why she's our Player of the Month.
Erdolino also epitomized the best of the rugby family in looking outside herself.
"Lexi has an amazing drive to be great," says City Honors Head Coach Matt Frank. "She uses her own time off the practice field for training to make herself stronger, faster, and better at rugby. When she is not training for rugby she works in a pizzeria so she can afford to go to rugby camps and hire personal trainers. Her goal is to one day be a capped USA Eagle."
A lofty goal, but we're just happy to see her do well and be mindful of the world around her. On May 14 an 18-year-old man entered a Tops grocery store in Buffalo, NY, shooting 12 people, of which nine, tragically, died. According to reports, the assailant targeted his victims because they were African American.
The attack hit the city hard, and occured just a couple of blocks from the City Honors rugby team's practice field. Quickly Erdolino wanted to do something.
"I think everybody in the city of Buffalo was affected by this," Erdolino told GRR. "I just knew maybe there was a way I could help."
This shooting happened in a not particularly affluent part of town, and Erdolino resolved to started a campaign to raise money for the local food pantry—hoping to help families while they wrre grieving. This done during the end of semester and as she and her team was preparing for nationals. The campaign spread and several teams at the national tournament donated.
"I just wanted to help the people of my city," she explained. "And then to find out that some of the teams at Nationals were donating, that was amazing."
Not amazed are her coaches and teammates. A powerful terror on the field, off it Erdolino is someone who cares, and is able to actually do something about it.
On The Field
On the field she is a force. She played youth football before being talked into playing rugby, and in this game she has found her home.
"The hitting ... I really like the hitting," she says. "I just love to tackle and I love to run through tackles."
And right behind her is an experience City Honors team that embraced being able to fully play again this season.
"This season we got to travel, and we got to finish out the year really well," she said. "The important thing is we finished the season as a team."
A strong and powerful player, Erdolino plays mostly prop but she has suited up at No. 8 and says she loves that position also.
"I really love the eightman pick," she said.
Captain of the City Honors team Erdolino ended the season with 28 tries in nine games and made the All-WNY team, leading City Honors to 4th at the National Championship Tier II and 3rd in the state.
Having graduated from City Honors she will take her talents to Quinnipiac, playing for the NCAA varsity program there.
"I will truly miss Lexi next year," said Frank, "but I know she will achieve great things for Quinnipiac and beyond."
As a Goff Rugby Report Player of the Month, Lexi Erdolino will receive $500 to help pay for college expenses, thanks in part to the support from Next Phase Rugby.
If you know of a player who deserves a Player of the Month award for what they do both on and off the field, let us know here>>