Charlotte Tucci is a remarkable lacrosse player.

By Mitch Silver

Charlotte Tucci is a remarkable lacrosse player. She plays nine months a year. As a sophomore two years ago, she was recruited and offered admission to Duke University to play lacrosse for the Blue Devils. Now imagine what kind of athlete Charlotte must be to earn the Rye High/Rye Lions Club Athlete of the Month award for October in her second-best sport.

It’s the soccer-playing Charlotte Tucci, center back for the 12-3-2 Garnet kickers, who’ll be joining the other monthly winners for the year-end dinner at The Osborn in June. Listen to what her Coach, Rich Savage, has to say about her.

“Charlotte was the anchor for the Garnets this season. Her athleticism and field vision gave her the ability to make huge defensive plays and then would often begin the attack for Rye, creating many scoring opportunities from the back line.

“A dedicated captain,” he went on, “Charlotte is a true leader both on and off the soccer field and will be impossible to replace.”

So, what does someone who plays high school sports year-round do off the field? “I’m a math girl. And I love Spanish. I’m not exactly sure how they go together, but they do.”

Charlotte uses her Spanish at Port Chester’s Don Bosco Center, where she helps tutor Hispanic adults in English in the Center’s Teaching for Change program. She’s also an active member of Rye High’s Breast Cancer Awareness Club. “My grandmother had breast cancer, so I’m aware of the need for research. We bake cakes and cookies to raise money, among other things.”

In the summer, Charlotte is a counselor at Camp Shenorock. “The 5-year-olds were my responsibility. They keep you on your toes.”

October’s Athlete-of-the-Month must keep on her toes in the classroom as well. She’s a National Honor Society member who’s been on Rye’s High Honor Roll throughout her high school career. So now she’ll follow her older sister Emma to Durham, North Carolina, in the fall. But first, she’ll lead the Garnets’ lacrosse team for Coach Dennis Hurlie in the spring.