For many young students aspiring to play a sport in college, the blueprint is clear. Play well in high school, get recruited, commit to a school, and begin your career as a collegiate student-athlete upon graduating high school.  
 
For others, like Zach Crisafulli, the route to collegiate athletics takes a different form.
 
Growing up in Oswego, New York, Crisafulli was one of three brothers. His father was a law enforcement officer, while his mom worked as a cosmetologist. Lacrosse wasn't the only sport he showed interest in.
 
"We always liked hockey, but it was always too expensive for us to play. On my dad's salary and my mom's salary together, there was no way they were putting three kids through hockey," Crisafulli said.
 
While playing baseball in the third grade, he took on lacrosse for the first time too. He'd watched his older brother play the year before and enjoyed the sport for its similarities to hockey.
 
After a year of playing below the skill level he wanted to achieve, he trained over the summer on a goal made from PVC pipes that his dad had placed in the back yard of their home. He quickly began to see improvements in his game and continued to take the sport seriously.
 
"As a sophomore in high school I got called up to the varsity lacrosse team, so I always kind of knew I had the skill to play at a higher level – especially playing in a hotbed area like New York and still getting the opportunity to play varsity lacrosse as a 10th grader," Crisafulli said.
 
But football was his preference (having also played the sport since he was young), and he had hopes of playing on the gridiron in college. After a visit to State University of New York at Morrisville and a conversation with head coach at the time Curt Fitzpatrick (now the head coach of the 2023 Division III national champions of SUNY Courtland), Crisafulli's intentions of playing football for the Mustangs were set. That is, until he sustained a knee injury during the fall of his senior year.
 
He was able to return to play in time for a playoff game, but having missed extended time and still recovering from injury, the thought of playing football at the next level seemed far more distant now. When the spring came, he began to set his sights on a different goal.
 
"Spring rolled around, and I had a big knee brace on," Crisafulli said. "I got probably eight or nine games into the [lacrosse] season, and I walked up to Coach [Robert] Nelson – everyone calls him Doc – and I was like, 'Doc, I want to play college lacrosse, because there's no way I'm playing college football now.'
 
"And I remember, he didn't get mad at me, but he was like, 'Well why didn't you tell me nine games ago?'"
 
Nelson pointed Crisafulli back to Morrisville and helped connect him with head coach at the time Jason Longo, who gave Crisafulli a shot. However, he didn't make it to the spring season.
 
"When I turned 18, I went to Morrisville State, and it just wasn't for me," Crisafulli said. "I did a semester there and then I did a semester in community college, and I realized I needed to do something else."
 
His semester of community college was spent at Cayuga Community College pursuing a Criminal Justice degree. Knowing he'd have to wait until he turned 21 to become a law enforcement officer, he looked for a path that would help prepare him for that goal.
 
"I talked to my parents and ended up deciding on joining the military," he said. "It felt like I was going to be able to continue to play my sports, but on a different level."
 
After researching each branch, he settled on the Marine Corps, hoping the physical nature of the training would push him the most. He thought to himself, "I want to prove to myself that I can do this."
 
After attending boot camp and Marine Combat Training (MCT), Crisafulli was stationed at Marine Corp Air Station New River in Jacksonville, N.C. near Camp Lejeune for four years.
 
"I was really big on green side and taking care of my marines," he said. "I always wanted to do more for my guys – as well as myself – than just what we were doing for our job.
 
"I enjoyed the camaraderie with my fellow marines, and I knew I was a part of something bigger than who I was, which was good for me."
 
While he loved New York, he felt a deeper connection to the state of North Carolina by the end of his active service. His wife had followed him down south and the couple decided to make it their new home.
 
Before long, one of Crisafulli's brothers got a job in Winston-Salem. Then his parents followed suit and moved to the Tar Heel State too.
 
"I pioneered the whole family down here, which is kind of cool," Crisafulli joked.
 
When his active service came to an end, Crisafulli spent the next year working at a nutrition store while also doing contract work for the military and other organizations. Simultaneously, he was attempting online classes through Southern New Hampshire University, but once again, something wasn't clicking. That's when former Methodist men's lacrosse coach Zach Nedbalski came calling.
 
"When I decided I was coming here, I was actually in a job interview to work at a gym and be a desk manager," Crisafulli said. "I was sitting in the interview, and I got a call from Coach Ned."
 
Nedbalski had seen that Crisafulli was interested in joining his team. Having never seen Crisafulli play, he didn't promise him playing time, but he did express a mutual interest in having him on the team.
 
"I did a recruit questionnaire. I was 25 at the time. 25-year-old dudes don't really get recruited off of those," Crisafulli said, smiling as he recounted the memory.
 
"Coach Ned – I owe a lot to that man. He bent over backwards to make sure I could get here and play."
 
Now coached by first-year head coach Ryan McKay, Crisafulli is providing leadership to a team on the rise.
 
"Zach is super passionate in everything he cares about," McKay said. "He is willing to do whatever it takes to help our team and those around him.
 
"I think the biggest thing Zach brings to our team is maturity. It is very rare to have a player on your team with so much life experience already."
 
And despite being just a sophomore, Crisafulli doesn't mind being the oldest guy in the lockerroom.
 
"It's cool, because I feel like a lot of them look up to me in a way where I can kind of guide them but not give them the answers on stuff," he said. "I really like taking people under my wing. It reminds me of the Marine Corp. I like seeing these dudes grow.
 
"I don't really view it as me being older than them. I just view it as like, we're all brothers. Definitely got some younger brothers in the locker room, which is cool for me because I was the youngest in the family."
 
With a family of his own now, Crisafulli has had the privilege of playing lacrosse in front of his wife and daughter.
 
"As a kid, I grew up watching my dad play broomball. I want to be able to expose my daughter to lacrosse because of how great of a sport it is, but in general, sports have been such a big part of my life. I'd like to pass that on to her and have that be a huge part of her life as well."
 
In front of the home crowd at Monarch Stadium, the Methodist men's lacrosse team runs onto the field ahead of every game for warmups. Leading the way for the last two seasons has been Crisafulli.
 
Being that Methodist exists within the same community as Fort Liberty – home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces for the U.S. Army – he saw an opportunity for the team to honor those who serve locally. After receiving support from coaches and team captains, he assumed the responsibility of carrying an American flag onto the field before every home contest.
 
"I get a great sense of pride every time I get to carry that flag. That's definitely something that I have really loved that I've been able to contribute to this. I know when I'm done playing here, I'm going to pass that torch to someone else."

Recording 15 groundballs, two goals, one assist, and three caused turnovers this season, Crisafulli has contributed on the field too. As a team, the Monarchs finished 5-3 in conference play and earned the No. 4 seed in the USA South Tournament.
 
On Thursday, they compete at 5:30 p.m. in Misenheimer, N.C. against top-seeded Pfeiffer for a spot in the conference title game.