An Ellicott City, Maryland native, McCarthy grew up playing multiple sports at a highly competitive level. In eighth grade it was time to make a commitment to a single sport—she chose lacrosse. McCarthy made the Varsity Girl’s Lacrosse Team at Mount Hebron High School as a freshman and quickly became an impact player in the starting lineup. During her time as a Viking, under Head Coach Chris and Assistant Coach Scott Robinson, the Mount Hebron Girls’ Lacrosse Program was ranked #1 in the country two straight years and never fell out of the top 10.

McCarthy helped lead Mt. Hebron to the National High School Lacrosse Championship during her freshman and sophomore seasons. Her performance in high school earned her many awards: Two-time First-Team All-America, Three-time First-Team All-Howard County and Two-time All-Metro Selection.McCarthy earned a full five-year athletic scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During her freshman season (2003) as a Tar Heel, she was selected by the UNC Coaching Staff as “Carolina’s Rookie of the Year.” She started all 16 games as a play-making midfielder and ended the season ranked fourth on the team in scoring with 23 points, tied for second on the squad in assists, collected 24 ground balls and 22 draw controls.McCarthy was voted the winner of UNC’s Hustle Award by her teammates and coaches at the end of her sophomore season (2004). She was named to the All-ACC Tournament team after scoring three goals against Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinal game.After appearing in just one game, McCarthy redshirted the 2005 season after tearing her right ACL for the second time in nine months. She came back in 2006 stronger than ever and was awarded UNC’s Team Hustle Award for her fitness after returning from injury. McCarthy was named to the All-ACC Team, Second-Team All-South Region by the IWLCA and was named AAC Player of the Week on March 20th 2006. She tied a teammate as the Tar Heel’s leading scorer with 42 points (26 goals and 16 assists.McCarthy ended her collegiate lacrosse career at Carolina after playing her fifth year of eligibility. During her time at UNC, the Tar Heels made four NCAA appearances and consistently raised the level of play year over year. While she did not win a National Championship at UNC, McCarthy was blessed to be coached by Jenny Levy as Levy was building the foundation for a program that aspires to, achieves and perpetuates success. McCarthy considers herself lucky to have been coached by the best youth, high school and college coaches the game of lacrosse will ever experience–Mickey McCarthy, her father and highly respected coach in the Baltimore Metropolitan area, the Robinson Brothers (Mount Hebron High School) and Jenny Levy (UNC), one of the best women’s lacrosse coaches of all time. McCarthy reinvests in her community through youth athletics by sharing her experiences as a highly successful athlete. Athletes with natural ability can be taught skills and compete at a high level but those who demonstrate a depth of character, resilience and the drive to consistently practice their craft will be recruited at the highest level.