Photo courtesy of Sun Sentinel Interview by: Mekenzye Schwab Edited by: Bianca Diaz This is part of a series of interviews Florida Lacrosse News is conducting with recent Florida lacrosse players that have committed to college programs. We bring you these interviews as a way to give you an inside look at how they got to where they are now . . . as well as getting to know them at a personal level! Junior midfielder Allie Gershman proves to be a crucial asset to the Pinecrest girl’s lacrosse team. Just three games into the season, already tallying up 9 goals as well as a total of 38 goals in the previous year, Gershman has risen to be a true leader on her team. As a third year member on the Panther’s varsity team and University of Southern California commit, Allie continues to improve showing great potential for the 2014 season. Name: Allie Gershman (#22) School/ grade: Pine Crest/ 11th grade Position: Midfield Club team: X team   Who introduced you to lacrosse and what made you want to pursue a collegiate career?    My coach Eileen Pliske. I’ve known her for a while and she’s amazing. She really encouraged me and made me love it.   What has been one of your greatest accomplishments as a lacrosse player?    Definitely committing to USC   Why did you choose USC?    Because of the coaches. They’re incredible. I also chose it because of the academics. The opportunities in the student athlete program are overall great.   What was your favorite and least favorite part of the recruiting process?    It was cool gaining exposure and traveling to different states like Maryland and California to play in tournaments. But at the same time it was really stressful, you never knew what could happen and nothing was guaranteed.   What are your goals for this season?    Just to lead the team. I also want to have fun and get better as a player.   How do you think your team will perform this year?    I think we’re going to do really good. Even though we lost some players last year, I don’t think people are expecting us to be good. But we have a lot of really talented young players so if we step up and play as a team we’ll do really well.   About me: Favorite thing to do when not playing: Playing soccer or a different sport Favorite food: Ice-cream Talent: I water ski jump Favorite show: One Tree Hill Role model: Mia Hamm