Last modified: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 2:20 AM EDT King Philip’s Kerry Eaton (7) scores one of her school-record 254 career goals. Eaton had 97 goals this season. GOBIS: Eaton among the elite at King Philip She is in rarified air, spoken of in the same breath as the Pasquantonios, the Cronins, the Cuozzos and many of the rest of the best of the female athletes who have draped a King Philip Regional High School jersey over their shoulders. An All-America selection too, not just athletically, but academically. The recipient of the outstanding senior female athlete at KP, the recipient of the Warriors' Hockomock League Scholar-Athlete Award, a two-time Mass. Lacrosse Coaches Association All-Star selection and a four-time All-Sun Chronicle selection. That's not even mentioning that she ran up and down the field as a member of the field hockey team for four seasons, that she was not just a member of the inaugural women's swimming team, but an MIAA South Sectional Meet qualifier too. And least we not forget the gaudy career goal scoring record of 254 on the lacrosse field. "Sometimes I can tell when I'm getting up there," explained Kerry Eaton of her prolific exploits with a lacrosse stick in her hands, of her multiple-goal games. "I don't really count, I try not to score that many, to take away (scoring chances) from my teammates. "But, if I'm wide open I'll shoot it." She shot it and hit the back of the net 97 times this spring season for the Warriors, while also collecting 32 assists. That single-season KP record far surpassed her total of 71 goals as a junior. She now is in the select company of KP's all-time leading scorer Mary Pasquantonio (189 goals, 167 assists), Kelly Pasquantonio, Kelly Winslow and Katie and Allie Cuozzo. "It makes me feel good that people think so highly of me, that I've been able to have some success in my athletic career, but also be a good teammate too," said Eaton, who is heading to Tufts University. Eaton first found a lacrosse stick in her hands when she was 11 years old, playing in the town league. Two years later, she was playing lacrosse in the Mass. Elite League, making weekend excursions through the six-state region, to Long Island and upstate New York and parts in between for weekend matches. And all along, she's had a mentor and a mom beside her as Sue Eaton, along with Madeleine Harty, were her youth coaches and also this season with the KP varsity. She went to camp for elite players at Amherst College, went to the Elite-180 camp last year at Keene, N.H. State. "Really, I think a lot of the cross training and playing other sports helped my (lacrosse) career," said Eaton. "It was good for me. You're using different parts of your body, you're getting different coaches and meeting different kids. I liked having a change of seasons." As a member of the KP field hockey team during her senior season, Eaton was the Warriors' No. 2 scorer with 10 goals and seven assists. Not only was KP once-beaten (12-1-3) and Hockomock League champions, the Warriors advanced to the MIAA Division 1 South Tournament semifinals - with Eaton scoring match-winning goals against Franklin and Canton and against Sandwich in the opening round of postseason play. As a member of KP's first girls' swimming team this past winter, Eaton swam the 50 freestyle, the 100 butterfly and in the relays. She qualified for the South Sectionals in the 50 freesstyle and was a member of the Warrior 200 medley relay team which qualified for the MIAA Meet. Oddly, this is the first summer since her adolescent years that she wasn't playing in a summer league, on some developmental team, criss-crossing New England and the Northeast to play games. Instead, she's a lifeguard and swim instructor at the Plainville town pool. "I started playing field hockey in my freshman year, I had played soccer for so long that I was sick of it," said Eaton. "It's kind of like lacrosse, in that you have a stick in your hands and you're running all the time - there are a lot of stops and starts." Baggattaway may be the Native American name for lacrosse, but it was the "Indian dribble" that she mastered in advancing the ball along for the field hockey team. However, lacrosse always was Eaton's favorite sport. "I got into it early and because I was a good athlete, they figured that I should play on offense. But, we worked on basics a lot." That's where the stewardship by her mom and Harty paid dividends. It was nurturing, but also demanding. When she advanced to the Mass. Elite League, playing with the Pasquantonios, Kendall Harty and Katie Cuozzo, with technically-skilled and talented players, Eaton didn't miss a step. "That really helped me in my high school career at KP because I was used to faster play. I was better prepared to play against the better teams that we faced," said Eaton. "When you start playing at the elite level, you have to move faster, you have to move to the open spots. "That enabled me to see the field, to see where I needed to be." Eaton was adept at both scoring with the ball in her pocket or coming off the wings. "A lot of times I watched the defender and when they took their eyes off of me, I'd head toward the goal," she added. And with the rules of women's lacrosse as they are, goals must be scored from inside the goal crease. So instead of whipping those 15-20 yard shots at some unsuspecting goalkeeper, Eaton relies on her speed and finesse to touch the twine. "I generally use finesse shots, I don't shoot with all my power," said Eaton. "More so than winding up, I place them. "Picking the right hole is the best way to score." That's 250 times doing so. PETER GOBIS may be contacted at 508-236-0375 or via e-mail at pgobis@thesunchronicle.com