The following is the latest installment in an occasional series about the progress of local student-athletes who have gone on to succeed at the next level in their college careers.
BERLIN- Former Stephen Decatur girls’ varsity lacrosse standout goalkeeper Jillian Petito, now a junior at Mount St. Mary’s, was named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week last week after a pair of huge games, marking the second time she earned the honor this season.
Petito ranks second in the nation in save percentage at .561 and fourth in goals-against average. She was outstanding in the net for Mount St. Mary’s last week in a pair of wins over Central Connecticut and Bryant that helped the Mount clinch a berth in the Northeast Conference playoffs.
Petito allowed just 11 goals combined in the two late-season games. She made six saves and gave up just five goals against Central Connecticut last Friday and followed that up with a 14-save performance and a .700 save percentage against Bryan last Sunday. With Petito in goal, the Mount defense held Bryant, the league’s top-scoring offense, off the board for the final 37 minutes of the contest.
The junior goalkeeper has started all 16 games for the Mount this season, recording 176 saves for a 56-percent save percentage. Last year, Petito was named to the All Northeast Conference Second Team and led all NEC goalies in save percentage and ranked second in saves per game.
Petito helped lead Decatur to back-to-back regional championships and trips to the state Final Four in her junior and senior seasons. She was a U.S. Lacrosse First Team All-American in 2015 at Decatur and earned Honorable Mention All-American honors as a junior in 2014. She was also named a Wendy’s Heisman Scholar-Athlete winner for the state of Maryland while at Decatur.
