The United States Military Academy has been in existence for more than 216 years and has had countless well-known graduates shape the foundation of this country. Because of that, there are limited chances to be the first person to accomplish a feat at the prolific institution nowadays. But for Army West Point women’s lacrosse player Rachel Hornick, seizing unexpected moments have given her an opportunity to achieve that accomplishment.
The Calvert, Md., native has been etching her name into Army’s records book since the program’s inception prior to the 2016 school year. From scoring the team’s first goal to becoming its first ever 100-point scorer, there is no disputing that Hornick has left her mark permanently.
When Hornick first came to West Point as a plebe, lacrosse was one of the farthest things from her mind. The two-sport high school athlete was originally recruited as a volleyball player by Army head coach Alma Kovaci Lee.
“It’s funny because my brother Lucas, who played on the sprint football team, told me that I should be on a team if I was going to come to West Point,” Hornick said.
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Around the time her brother was graduating from the Academy in 2013, there was a buzz going around that Army might be adding women’s lacrosse in the next few years. It was something she was considering, but she ultimately wanted to play volleyball.
After arriving at West Point for her plebe year, Hornick loved competing on the court in Gillis Field House.
“I loved all of the girls on the team,” Hornick added. “The whole aspect of being on a team at West Point and competing for Army was awesome. But when the Academy announced that lacrosse was going to be a Division I sport that next year, I kept it in the back of my mind in case volleyball didn’t work out.”
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Hornick didn’t see much action on the court during her rookie year because her class was full of 12 strong cadet-athletes. After that initial season, she and the coaches sat down for an end-of-the-year meeting where they decided she should maybe reconsider her athletic path. The coaches encouraged Hornick to give lacrosse a shot.
“I didn’t hold it against the volleyball staff or coaches at all, and it was actually Coach Alma who suggested I go talk to the lacrosse staff,” Hornick said. “When I left the volleyball office, I walked across the hall to lacrosse, knocked on Coach Kristen Skiera’s door and asked her what I needed to do to be part of their first Division I season. I think Coach Alma was already in her ear about me because she knew I also played lacrosse in high school.”
Skiera jumped at the opportunity once she learned that Hornick was interested in joining the team and invited her to participate in some of their practices. She even put Hornick on the spring roster in case she wanted to play in any games. Hornick was enticed by the thought of playing lacrosse again, but chose to finish out her plebe year with the same girls she finished BEAST barracks with and spent an entire season with in the fall.
“Rachel actually came into our program in a unique fashion,” Skiera said. “We were thrilled because we knew that Rachel grew up in Maryland with a strong lacrosse background. We only had to watch her play for a few minutes before knowing she would ultimately be able to impact our new program in a big way.”
She then made the transition from volleyball to lacrosse after the spring of that year. A change that was eased by the support of both coaches. At the end of the day, Hornick chose what ended up being the best path for her. Unfortunately, there was a slight hiccup before that could happen. She would have to wait until her grades improved to ultimately become eligible to play.
“I could still practice with the team, I just couldn’t play in the games,” Hornick said. “It was really hard for me to stay on the sidelines for games because the offseason is the time where teams really grow. I don’t think that time off hindered me at all on the field.
“If anything, it motivated me to be even more involved with the team and put in more effort because I had to miss the fall tournaments. I worked really hard that year and didn’t take pass a lot because I needed to focus on my schoolwork, but it all ended up working out.”
Hornick’s hard work in the classroom paid off as she was not only able to play in the inaugural season, but also earned a start at midfield in the program’s first game against Manhattan. With the Black Knights trailing 3-0 early in the game, Hornick forced a turnover off a draw, scooped up the ball, dodged a defender and beat the goalie with a shot to the far post.
There it was.
The FIRST goal in Army women’s lacrosse history belonged to her. What gave Skiera confidence that her team was already building the right foundation for a successful program was Hornick’s mindset after scoring that historic goal.
“I remember when they asked me how I was feeling at the time of the goal during a postgame interview, and I responded with ‘I was just focused on us losing 3-0 at the time,’” Hornick remarked. “So the fact that I scored the initial goal wasn’t the first thing on my mind. I was just happy to get us on the board, start chipping away at the deficit and get us back into the game. From the first whistle, I thought we were a good enough team to beat Manhattan and earn that respect.”
With the start of any new program, the hardest task is having to build it from the ground up. There is no easy trick for instant success. Programs have to earn it by going through the hardships every other team once started with. This has been no different for Army, who posted back-to-back 5-12 seasons to begin its history. And no matter what the scoreboard showed at the final whistle, the Black Knights took something away from every game that could be applied to the next.
“Rachel has been a key member of the program’s foundation in that she is truly passionate about competing and being a member of this team,” Skiera added. “She puts an outrageous amount of care and emotion into everything she does.”
But this was a new experience for Hornick, who had never been on an upstart team before at any point in her athletic career.
“It’s definitely been frustrating at times,” Hornick said. “This is the first time I’ve ever been on a team that was completely new while I was a part of it. My lacrosse and volleyball teams in high school were both really good when I got there, so being here from the beginning and handling the growing pains really challenges someone’s character when not everything goes your way. To see the growth and know the pains that went into it, I’m happy that I was able to be here during the transition to set the standard. I hope that throughout these next couple years, we’ll continue to grow into a top-ranked team.
"I can see a new culture beginning in the plebes this year in particular. If we don’t perform up to expectations for a practice or a game, they’re upset. But they have no idea how far we’ve come. It’s harder for the underclassmen to understand because they’re starting to expect greatness and expect us to be good. That’s what we’ve been striving to build here and what this team needs to do.”
Those expectations are starting to become a reality for this squad as the 2018 club already set program records for wins (seven), longest winning streak (four), goals in a single game (21) and goals in a single half (15) before they even began Patriot League play. In addition to the records, there were a couple more milestones that were achieved.
Hornick added another first to her resume as she became the first player in Army history to register 100 career points when she found the back of the net in the first half against Wofford on March 8. And just like when she scored the program’s first goal, she had no idea the magnitude of her accomplishments until after the final whistle blew. Undoubtedly, Hornick deflected the praise and noted that lacrosse is a team game with 11 other girls out there on the field with her.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere without the girls to my left and my right,” Hornick commented in her postgame interview. “I just want us to be such a good team that those stats don’t matter because everyone is a threat, and I think we’ve gotten to that point.
“Without a doubt, we are 100 percent a different team than from when we started. It’s insane knowing that we have six to eight players consistently scoring and that everyone is contributing in some way out there. I think that shows the great potential for more people to reach 100 points and goals throughout their careers over the next few years. I’m excited to see the future of this program as an alumni next season and to come back and watch the program grow even more from what I’ve already seen.”
There is no doubt that Hornick and the 2018 seniors have left a lasting impression on the program and have set the foundation for what this team expects to be in the future. What they truly want to be remembered for though is not only their accomplishments on the field. They want their legacy to go much deeper than the wins and losses and the number of goals they scored playing a game.
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“We try not to harp on just lacrosse,” Hornick said. “We try to focus on the good stuff like our friendships and relationships with our teachers and TAC officers. I hope we can leave the best impression we can with this team, not just as lacrosse firsties, but as firsties at the Academy. Our biggest thing is to make this team the best that it can be, whether it’s on the lacrosse field, down the hill as a cadet, or in the classroom. We really harp on that, and I think the team has really adhered to it.
“Our sophomore year, we had a saying ‘define the legacy’. It has grown throughout the past two years and this season our slogan is ‘be about it’. It’s just about us giving 100 percent every day and showing the underclassmen how to appreciate that this is your last year to do this. That’s the crazy thing; this is our last year to play lacrosse, so why not go all out and make the Patriot League tournament right?”
When this season inevitably concludes and Hornick becomes an officer in the U.S. Army, her experiences not only at West Point, but also in dealing with all the trials and tribulations that go into building a program like this, will be valuable resources for her to utilize as a leader.
The transition from 2016 to now has been all about growing for Hornick. It’s been a process of making the best out of what you have and exemplifying everyone’s qualities.
“That’s a big thing about being a platoon leader,” Hornick commented. “You have to always harness each individual person’s skill and using it for the betterment of the team. In lacrosse, some people are better at shooting, but others have trouble with catching on the run. Those are really trivial aspects, but being able to use that to take someone and turn them into the best version of themselves is critical.”
Unknowingly Hornick has not only grown into a prolific women’s lacrosse player but a well-rounded cadet who will forever been marked in Army West Point lore.