Matt Fox took the nontraditional approach compared to most star athletes. The Post’s reigning All-City Player of the Year was less concerned about where he would be playing lacrosse next than where he would be going to school.
“It’s the opposite,” Horace Mann coach Gregg Quilty. “You finally have a kid with that much talent and he didn’t approach me at all. I was wondering. There are so many, at least D-III schools that he could play for. But before I even got the ball rolling he was like, ‘I’m going to Dartmouth.’”
Fox, a talented midfielder, never thought about being recruited and didn’t even send out a highlight tape. When he visited Dartmouth he fell in love with the school, not caring that he likely wouldn’t be able to play at the Division I level. It’s a choice he is comfortable with. The decision, he said, did not surprise his teammates, but perked questions from opponents. Fox joked that his father George was also a bit disappointed. The lacrosse bug has bitten the three-sport athlete more now that the season has begun.
“It makes me definitely want to play more,” Fox said. “When I’m playing soccer or basketball, lacrosse isn’t on my mind.”
The senior is one of the city’s top players, something he put on display at the Mayor’s Cup on Randall’s Island Sunday afternoon. His superb dodging skills and strength make him a tough cover. He can beat double teams, run past defenders and is tough to knock off his route to the cage. He has an accurate and powerful shot he can also unleash.
Fox scored 60 goals and dished out 23 assists for the Lions last season and is off to another good start. He has tallied nine goals in three games, including four in a loss to Ivy League power Fieldston last week. In a preseason event in Florida, Fox scored nine times in a contest against Minnesota state champion St. Margaret’s. He believes winning this season will only further increase his desire to keep playing the sport in some way.
“Getting into the season definitely makes me want to play a bit more,” Fox said.
The opportunities to keep playing are there at Dartmouth. Fox was told that he could attend the team’s summer workouts. It would give him a chance to walk-on to a team that plays against Ivy League foes like Princeton, Yale and UPenn, which are perennial national powers. It’s something Fox is considering, but Quilty warned he could not expect to do it half-heartedly. Playing on the school’s club team is also an option.
“It’s not something that you do if you are not 100 percent into it,” Quilty said.
Added Fox: “Sometimes I think, ‘Hey why not? I can try. Why can’t I do it?’”
Right now his focus is on leading Horace Mann to a successful season. His confidence in that isn’t shaken after an 8-7 loss to Fieldston and a 14-2 defeat to defending champion Hackley. Fox and company will look to turn things around with games against Dalton, Poly Prep and Collegiate next week. At season’s end he can decide his lacrosse future at the school of his dreams.
“I knew that if I wanted to I could try to walk on,” Fox said. … “It’s still sort of an open option, but I’m definitely considering.”