For Liberty Women’s Lacrosse senior attacker Ava Rajala, sports have always been an important part of her family.
“My dad also played sports in college, and my grandfather played football at the University of Minnesota,” Rajala said. “All my other family members play hockey too, so I think that’s just something that’s been set in stone. We are just all about sports.”
Rajala’s sister, who she described as her role model, played lacrosse, which was a major reason she picked up the sport after primarily playing hockey.
“She started playing in middle school, and I always wanted to have a chance to play with her in some sport,” Rajala said. “I was like, ‘You know what? I’m playing hockey in the winter, so I’m going to play lacrosse in the spring and summer to play with her.’ So ultimately it was because of my older sister.”
Rajala said that the switch from hockey to lacrosse wasn’t too difficult, and that one of the biggest differences was the endurance needed in lacrosse.
“In hockey you have very short shifts, maybe 40 seconds on, and in lacrosse you could be there the whole entire game and not really get a sub,” Rajala said. “But I think over the years I’ve learned how to balance the endurance and conditioning, and I really think that hockey helped my game to get me where I am today.”
One of the key things that made Rajala choose Liberty over other college programs was the spiritual focus of the school.
“Liberty had always been my dream school,” Rajala said. “Middle school and high school I really just didn’t like the secular public school environment, so I knew I had to go to Liberty no matter what.”
Rajala said the COVID-19 pandemic and stipulations for coaches and athletes complicated the process of coming to Liberty.
“That was weird because we could talk to coaches, we couldn’t for a period of time … it wasn’t easy,” Rajala said. “During high school I still wasn’t really getting as many offers as I wanted to … but I really wanted to go to Liberty.”
Despite this, she noted how God worked and moved to bring her to the Mountain.
“Before one of my semifinal lacrosse games in high school, I just said a prayer. I was like, ‘Lord, just let this game mean something … whatever the outcome is, I just give it up to you,’” Rajala said “Unfortunately, we lost, but my head coach came up to me like, ‘Hey, the Liberty coach was there scouting you and she really likes you.’”
From there, Rajala came to the camp for the lacrosse team and then later committed to Liberty. Her time as a Lady Flame has been successful, having reached a major career milestone this season.
“I recently just got 100 points career-wise, which was amazing,” Rajala said. “It’s really cool to see growth and development to hit that career stat. My senior year so far, it’s been really cool.”
Rajala said her faith has played a role in her athletic career and how it helps her as she continues to compete at the Division I level.
“Discipline. I think that’s the first word that comes to mind,” Rajala said. “It’s hard to keep working at a sport or anything that you do, and I think God gives us these talents for a reason. It’s been a really influential part of my life.”
The atmosphere and the community from the Liberty Women’s Lacrosse team is a major part of what Rajala says makes it stand out from other lacrosse programs.
“It is the best atmosphere I have ever been a part of. Knowing that you are on a team with 30 to 40 sisters in Christ and you’re this family forever, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that, at least in a school format before,” Rajala said.
Rajala credits her parents for aiding in her career and playing a major part through their sacrifices and time they invested in her.
“They sacrificed a lot of time,” Rajala said. “And they’ve always been nothing but supportive, whether it’s dropping me off at hockey and then 30 minutes later driving me to the lacrosse field to go play.”
Following graduation, Rajala plans to move back home to Minnesota and find work.
“I’m studying interior design, so I hope to land a job at whatever design firm comes my way, hopefully back home in Minnesota,” Rajala said. “But I’ll somehow always stay connected to Liberty Lacrosse because it’s just so special.”
Gibson is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.