Lauren Gilbert
Biography
Personal: Gilbert is a member of Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse's Player Executive Committee. She majored in journalism at Northwestern with a minor in Spanish and also earned a Master's degree in integrated marketing communications from the same university in 2022. Gilbert currently works in consumer insights at Under Armour. She also coaches for the Tenacity club team in the Bay Area and runs clinics and training sessions to promote the growth of lacrosse in the western region. Her mother, Christina, played field hockey at Dartmouth, and her father, Jerry, played football at Dartmouth as well. Gilbert's sister, Katy, is a junior midfielder on the lacrosse team at Stanford. In her free time, Gilbert enjoys hiking, paddleboarding, and waterskiing on the lake. She is a dog lover and has a labradoodle named Rudy. Gilbert credits Northwestern women's lacrosse coaches Kelly Amonte Hiller and Scott Hiller as individuals who have made a difference in her life. If she wasn't playing lacrosse, Gilbert would be a soccer player. During her childhood, she participated in various sports, including soccer, basketball, lacrosse, cross country, and track and field. Her hobbies include spending time outdoors, listening to music, traveling, reading, coaching, and being with friends and family. Gilbert also enjoys watching "Golden Buzzer" videos from America's Got Talent on YouTube. She has worn the number 1 jersey since high school, except for the 2022 Athletes Unlimited season.
2023 Season: Gilbert finished her second Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse campaign with 681 leaderboard points. She was a starter in all 12 games and tied for second in the league with 20 goals. Gilbert ranked fourth in the circuit with 70 shots, including 46 shots on goal. She scored at least one goal in all 12 games, including six multi-goal performances. Gilbert opened the season with three consecutive two-goal efforts against Team Mastroianni, Team Read, and Team Moreno. She also posted back-to-back hat tricks against Team Moreno and Team Bosco during Week Three. Additionally, Gilbert accrued 100 or more leaderboard points in four games, including a season-high 135 points in the Week One finale against Team Moreno.
2022 Season: Gilbert started all 12 games and accumulated 1,129 leaderboard points. She tied for fourth place in the league with 960 win points and ranked seventh with 105 MVP points. Gilbert was the third-leading scorer in the league, with 25 goals, and finished seventh in Athletes Unlimited with 37 points. She scored at least one goal in 10 out of 12 games, including the first nine games of the season. Gilbert had six games where she scored three or more goals, including four goals in her professional debut against Team Glynn on July 21. She also scored four goals in the Week Three opener against Team Colson. To close out Week Three, she had back-to-back three-goal outings against Team Johansen and Team Moreno. Gilbert also contributed 15 draw controls, including a season-high of five draws in the Week Three opener.
At Northwestern: Gilbert was a five-year letter winner and started 63 out of 81 games from 2018 to 2022. She is the fourth-leading scorer in the program's history with 225 career goals. Gilbert also contributed 59 assists and 155 draw controls for the Wildcats. She finished her career ranked sixth on Northwestern's career list with 284 points. Gilbert helped lead Northwestern to two Big Ten Conference titles and three appearances in the NCAA semifinals. In 2022, she was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. She received First-Team IWLCA All-America honors in her last two seasons and was also recognized as a Second-Team All-American by Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse Magazine. In 2021 and 2022, Gilbert received All-Big Ten First Team recognition. As a fifth-year senior, she started all 21 games and led the Wildcats with 79 goals and 106 points. Gilbert also ranked second on the team with 27 assists. In the 2021 season, she started 16 games and scored 66 goals with nine assists. During the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, Gilbert contributed 25 goals and nine assists in seven games. As a sophomore, she started in 20 out of 21 games and scored 52 goals with 13 assists. In her freshman year, Gilbert appeared in 17 games, scoring three goals and providing one assist. She was the recipient of the N Club Award, given to the best male and female student-athlete in each graduating senior class. Gilbert served as a captain for the Wildcats for two seasons and transitioned from midfield to attack during her sophomore year.