By Julia Helldorfer, Staff Writer
“Ice in your veins.” Erin Harkins recalled the phrase her dad often used when talking about sports, and performing when the pressure is at its highest. This mentality has fueled her clutch performances for the LIU women’s lacrosse team.
Harkins is a midfielder in her Junior year at LIU. She has shown her capabilities and passion on and off the field for lacrosse, which has helped lead the team to another successful run in the NEC postseason.
The women’s lacrosse team hoisted the NEC championship for their second consecutive season, defeating Stonehill 14–9 on May 2. This continued success is indicative of the dedication, hard work and practice that the team exemplifies. We see these features highlighted within Erin Harkins. Harkins has been a huge factor for the Sharks’ scoring four game-winning goals and being the prime NEC performer on Feb. 26. Harkins finished the season scoring 29 goals and 12 assists.
Harkins has been surrounded by sports and the mentality to make great achievements in sports throughout her whole life, especially within her family. Harkins grew up with her four older sisters, who also played sports, being examples of what she could be. Harkins’ dad is also a big inspiration for the athlete she is today. She remembers how they used to travel to watch her dad play softball in the NYPD league, which he is now in the Hall of Fame for.
“His mindset for sports, and for anything, has been something I admire and something I want to have. My father, sisters and mom have made me the player that I am,” she said.
Harkins’s passion for sports has spread to many sports. Growing up, she played lacrosse, basketball, and volleyball. Her top sport for most of her life was basketball, she played in the Amateur Athletic Union from fourth grade until her senior year in high school. She spent a lot of her life choosing between basketball and lacrosse, ultimately choosing to pursue lacrosse in her junior year of high school. This brought her to LIU.
She chose LIU for a multitude of reasons, one of them being still being close to her home and family, and the other because of how well suited she and the coaches here at LIU were.
On the field, we can see the efforts Harkins puts into her game and training. This is the case whether it is the on or off season. Over the summer, she trained three to four days a week, telling her trainers exactly what she needed to focus on.
“With my strength coach, getting stronger on all aspects of the field, whether it’s the ride, the clear, attack, or defense. With my lacrosse trainers, I just dodge, dodge, dodge, just reps on reps. As well as little things, a lot of reps,” Harkins said.
With lacrosse being such a major part of Harkins’ life, it has taught her much along the way. These things include friendships, confidence, and being reliable. These things are sentiments Harkins holds and shares with her teammates, whom she is proud to share the field with.
Harkins and her team have a very close relationship that she specifies makes their dynamic on the field event stronger. With the relationships they build off the field, they are able to give each other the pep talks and advice that they need to improve their game. Something that Harkins has been saying to her team the past week is “W.I.N.” This stands for “What is Important Now.” This helps them focus on what they can do in the present to increase their chances of success in their future games.
Harkins reflected on what her freshman self was like compared to what she is like now as a junior.
“I think the thing that has grown most for me in my game is my leadership and my confidence… Instilling confidence in my teammates too, I take pride in making them better, not just myself,” she said.
These actions, such as practice, teamwork, and instilling confidence within herself and those she is surrounded by on the field, have led Harkins and her teammates to become back-to-back NEC champions.
The quoted material contained in this article was courtesy of the Friday LIU Athletics edition of 88.1 FM WCWP’s “Sports Shark Tank,” with the original episode airing on April 25, 2025. “Sports Shark Tank” airs Monday through Friday from 5:00-6:00 p.m. on 88.1 FM, WCWP.org, and streaming on the WCWP mobile app.
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