By: Jillian Risberg

As goalie for the Italian national lacrosse team; Kristen Masullo not only gets to play the sport she loves but halfway around the world with some of the best. 

“Winning player of the match against Latvia and beating Norway in overtime by one,” Masullo calls the best field takeaway from her time there.

And the relationships she has built with her teammates. This opportunity has introduced the 30-year-old to colleagues from Italy, England and other states. 

Playing lacrosse at that level she likens to Division 1.

“However, it is cool to see how different teams from different countries put their own twist on the game,” she says. 

According to the goalie — team bonding of card nights, spike ball and exploring new restaurants in various European cities are some of her favorite off-field memories. 

The self-funded team does present a challenge because all their gear, travel and meals are paid out-of-pocket. So Masullo says they fundraise to offset some of the cost. 

She has gotten where she is with an ambitious foundation of dedication and form. 

“As the goalie, I am the last line of defense; so I do anything I can to have my teammates back, especially when they score goals in tight games,” says the coach. “I play for them and for the opportunity to inspire and grow the game that has given so much to me.” 

Masullo cites her teammate’s hard work when they aren’t together.

“That drives me more than anything,” she says. “We all send our workouts in the group as a level of accountability and motivation.”

It can be daunting in a foreign country when you don’t know anyone but the goalie says her Italian teammates and coaches were welcoming when she first arrived. 

“I was one of five other Americans so we helped each other navigate,” says Masullo. “My teammate Steph Colson and I would meet up and run together and shoot in between training sessions.”

And she stays focused when her team doesn’t play well or she’s not at the top of her game by always saying pregame prayer and watching back film for any improvements she can make. 

“As the goalie you are the quarterback of the defense so I do my best to navigate them so we as a unit can come up with a collective stop,” Masullo says if she is having an off game, she tries to focus on another way to help the group. “Our team does a 10-man ride so I sometimes come out of the goal to play defense, or try and chase a wide shot to make sure we regain possession.”

In the lacrosse community she admires team USA and Canada, calling their level of play unmatched and where she hopes to see Italia Lacrosse get to one day. 

She loves everything about the sport, including how it brings people together. 

It is more than a game and that was evident at the World Cup, according to Masullo.  

“To see the future of the game in the stands cheering you on is extra motivation to make sure you can be the best role model,” says the goalie. “Sports teach you life lessons that help me grow and develop as a player, coach and person.”

Her time at Gov. Livingston (GL) High School in Berkeley Heights prepared Masullo for life on and off the field, and props to her family and friends, coaches and teammates who supported the goalie in her various playing careers. 

“Huge shout out to my high school lacrosse coach, Coach A (now Kristy Detore) for making me fall in love with the sport and taking a chance on a kid who was a varsity soccer goalie converted lacrosse goalie,” she says.  

And Masullo’s parents, who never missed a college or high school game and believed in and supported her every step of the way. 

“As I chased this dream of playing at the World Cup; I could not have done it without them,” she says. “They molded me into the person I am today. Good character means more to me than any athletic accolade.”

Masullo also enjoys coaching boys lacrosse at Roxbury High School. She says not many women get to do that and the boys game has prepared her for the world games. 

“Boys lacrosse 6v6 (format) is much like what we played in the World Cup so I always say things happen for a reason, and when I switched from coaching high school girls to boys I now know why,” she says the guys she coaches as well as the staff have welcomed her. “I am the freshman coach but I work with all the goalies in the program.”

It all started for Masullo when her high school best friend played on GL’s lacrosse team and junior year they needed a goalie.  As the starting varsity soccer goalie, they asked her. 

Having only played soccer, basketball and softball her whole life other than the time she tried eighth-grade lacrosse (as an attacker not a goalie) — the sport was new to her. 

“I always say God has a sense of humor and my parents and I joked about making the switch and possibly getting a scholarship, which is essentially what happened,” says the goalie. “I got a D1 Scholarship to Liberty University.”

Her advice for young lacrosse players hoping to compete at the college and professional level is ‘never be afraid to dream big and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do anything.’

She writes her favorite bible verse (Matthew 19:26) ‘With God all things are possible’ on her arm when she is in a game. 

“To get to the next level requires hard work and dedication,” Masullo says there is always someone out working when no one is watching. “Strive to be that person who puts in the time to get where you want to go. Dream big and impossible is nothing.”

That’s exactly what the goalie herself is doing.

“I still plan on teaching and coaching in Roxbury,” she says. “I would like to play in the Euro Cup, and God willing the next World Cup and Olympics when lacrosse gets passed. After that I would love to coach for Italy at some point.”

Having the encouragement of family and friends along her athletic journey has meant much. 

“To my friend Jordan who helped in college thank you, and to my goalie coach Jen — thank you for teaching me everything I need to know about being a goalie.”