Coming in as a freshman, it’s tough acclimating to a new team, a new culture and new teammates. For many freshmen, it often takes at least a year to fully integrate into the collegiate game.
But freshman goalkeeper Shannon Alden has wasted no time in becoming a vital part of the Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse team.
Before Quinnipiac, Alden attended Bayport-Blue Point High School in Blue Point, New York, where it was nothing but lacrosse.
“I come from a really big lacrosse town, like, the minute I was in kindergarten, or clinics,” Alden said. “My parents just put me into it, and all my friends were doing it, and then I just stuck with it since then.”
Growing up in a “big lacrosse town,” Alden helped lead her team to the 2023 New York State Championship, while also winning Long Island and Suffolk County titles. She earned All-Division honors in 2024 and drew attention from college programs, with Quinnipiac being the one that she landed on.
“I definitely always wanted to play in college, since I started playing club and seeing all the kids all committing to colleges,” Alden said. “I thought it was really cool. And then I came to Quinnipiac, and I fell in love with it.”
Being constantly surrounded by the sport, on and off the field, helped Alden hone her game and helped her get noticed by head coach Jordan Christopher.
“Just how much she loves a sport,” Christopher said. “She has a passion for all sports. She’s competitive; she just loves everything about lacrosse and wants to get better. (She) watches lacrosse outside of just us, knows what’s going on in the world of lacrosse, and I think that’s a huge piece to it.”
The transition from high school to college lacrosse can be difficult to overcome for any player, especially a freshman goalkeeper. There will be goals that should’ve been saved and moments that shake confidence.
But not for Alden.
“When we played UConn, we started down like 6-2 in the first quarter, and her confidence never wavered,” senior defender Caelen O’Connor said. “She wasn’t playing well at first, but then she kind of fell back into her position that second quarter … it ended up giving us that leg up that we needed to then when the other goalies went in, we were like, set and in a good position again.”
Since then, the Blue Point, New York native has settled in and hasn’t looked back. As of publication, she has started in 11 out of the 12 games and has emerged as not just one of Quinnipiac’s impact freshmen but also in the country.
She leads the MAAC in saves per game and ranks No. 2 in save percentage and total saves. Nationally, she sits No. 8 in saves and No. 10 in both saves per game and save percentage. The consistent performances gives not only herself but her defenders the knowledge that there’s a brick wall behind them.
“She got more confident as she started playing with us more,” O’Connor said. “Just knowing that she’s gonna give it her all always has helped us a lot.”
Alden earned No. 9 on the Inside Lacrosse Women 2025 Freshman Impact Top 10 on March 19, joining a group made up of players from Power Five conferences. While Alden was excited about the recognition, there was something else on her mind.
“It feels like hard work is paying off,” Alden said. “But all the awards and stuff are cool, but it really just matters if we win or not, and if that award means that I’m doing good and I’m doing my job to help us win, then that means something. But my ultimate goal is just to make sure that we can win.”
The honor came two weeks after Alden’s best performance of the season, a 20 save effort against UMass Lowell on March 5, including a last-second save that sealed a 12-11 victory for the Bobcats.
“I think that we rallied really hard in that game that was probably the most fun game this whole season,” Alden said. “Being down in that game to come back and win by one that was a really cool and fun game to play in.”
With only four games remaining in the season and Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse being a potential playoff team for the first time since 2023, Alden’s standout play will need to continue if the team wants to make the MAAC Tournament.
“I think that we started the year really strong, and we’ve definitely faced some adversity with injuries and some losses,” Alden said. “But I think that we’re a really talented team, and I think that we can definitely win our next few games and make playoffs and go far in the playoffs.”
