Sonia was the third of a stream of young talent emerging from the Brighton lacrosse Club, Trish and Jen Adams before her, and Hannah Nielsen after her.
A game of lacrosse fell onto Sonia LaMonica’s gaze when she was a youngster in Adelaide’s southern suburbs, she suddenly visualising her natural speed could be put to good use.
She was enjoying considerable success running on the track but there was something special about lacrosse that drew her in.
In athletics and tennis, she had taken pleasure in the individual freedom of solo performances, but now the appeal of joining a team sport had grown stronger. “I was always a kid that loved to run and run faster than the boys. So for me, right away, a sport where you can use your speed, I was intrigued,” said LaMonica.
The fierce individual nature of solo sports had already given her a leg-up, and now having teammates she could rely on to calm her nerves and further motivate her was a powerful magnet.
But it was also the Brighton community that prompted LaMonica to fully invest in lacrosse.
“At the time there were these Adams sisters who were playing at Brighton, and Jen was just this unbelievable role model for all of us,” LaMonica said. “I was just fortunate to follow this amazing path that Jen and her sister trailblazed for us—playing for Brighton and then going and playing in the States.”
Formerly Sonia Judd, she was the third of a stream of young talent emerging from the Brighton Club, Trish and Jen Adams before her, and Hannah Nielsen after her.
Exhilaration followed when three of those Brighton stars – Jen Adams, La Monica and Nielsen – were selected to the 2005 national team for the USA World Women’s Lacrosse Cup.
Together the Brighton trio led Australia to a famous victory over the US in the final, finally climbing lacrosse’s highest peak and claiming the gold medal.
Further individual celebrations were to come when LaMonica and Adams were named in the 2005 IFWLA All-World Team following the close of the championships, rare air for two Aussies.
In the year that she was a member of the U-19 Australian team that won the silver medal at the 1999 World Cup, LaMonica was also the recipient of the U21 South Australian Sportswoman of the Year award.
While on scholarship at the elite University of Maryland where she graduated with a BA in Fine and Studio Arts, LaMonica continued to play for Australia, helping lead the way to a silver medal at the 2009 World Cup, then in 2019, playing a key role in helping Australia earn a bronze medal at the World Cup in Canada.
After her studies, just as Jen Adams before her and Hannah Nielsen after her, LaMonica remained in the US, taking up roles as an assistant then head coach at leading lacrosse universities, including the University of Virginia.
“Coach LaMonica is a fearless competitor who had a dominant career as a player at Maryland,” UVA Athletic Director Carla Williams said at the time. “Her teams are tough, skilled and disciplined…. She is a wonderful person, coach and role model and she will be an amazing addition to our department and coaching roster.”
