Mission lacrosse player commits to NCAA Division 1 program

A Mission lacrosse player will have a chance to showcase her talents at the top collegiate level.

Halle Dhaliwal has committed to the St. Bonaventure University women’s lacrosse program in New York as an attacker for the 2028 class. The Bonnies play in the Atlantic 10 Conference in NCAA Division 1.

Dhaliwal had other offers, but she knew quickly that St. Bonaventure was the place she wanted to be. On a visit to the university, Dhaliwal said she loved the campus and clicked with the coaches and team right away.

“I felt like it was just a place where I could grow both as a student and a player. As soon as I went there, I just knew. And it was such a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Dhaliwal said.

The past several months have been challenging for Dhaliwal. The summer was important for recruiting and packed with tournaments in the United States. In the final tournament in August, she tore her ACL.

Dhaliwal had surgery on Aug. 24 and the recruiting period for Division 1 began on Sept. 1. She said the injury led to uncertainty for some coaches, but not at St. Bonaventure.

“I’m still going through rehab. For schools, sometimes it was like a make or break decision. But for (St. Bonaventure), they didn’t care and showed that the coaches cared about me as a player,” she said.

The injury will keep Dhaliwal off the field until May 2027, but she’s committed to putting in the hours to recover. She said it’s been hard since the injury, but it could also be the world telling her to slow down.

“It’s way more of a mental thing than I thought. It’s about putting my mind and my heart into working to get it better. Obviously I can’t play lacrosse, something that I have done my whole entire life, and this is the longest that I’ll have to go without playing. So that’s really hard,” she said.

Playing Division 1 lacrosse has been a goal of Dhaliwal’s since she first picked up a stick. When she made the provincial team, Dhaliwal knew that she wanted to pursue lacrosse further.

She branched out beyond Mission Lacrosse and played with programs in Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as Team Canada’s National Development Team Program, Team BC, Fusion West, ADVNC, Oregon Pride, and the Pacific Northwest American Selects team. Dhaliwal trained with Mission’s Shonly Wallace, who also played post secondary lacrosse.

“I’m just super excited for the first year of just being able to grow and be a part of something. That’s what I’ve been wanting to do my whole life,” she said. “It’s a whole other level of lacrosse, so obviously I’m gonna have to work hard and it’s going to be extra hard with my injury. I have to be able to come back and be who I was before, and so I think it puts on a lot of pressure. But also now I have something to work towards.”