7 medals + 5 team championships = 1 amazing ride

It’s one of the more remarkable runs of success in high school sports.

Every year since 2006-07, at least one team at Acton-Carlisle High School has won a state championship.

In the last three years, one person has been on five of those teams.

Sarah Fortier wrapped up her career as a high school athlete at CCHS when she scored the winning goal for the girls lacrosse team in a 10-9 overtime victory against Notre Dame Academy (Hingham), giving the Patriots their second straight MIAA Division 1 state title.

In the winter, Fortier helped the Patriots girls swimming team capture its third straight Division 1 state title.

In addition to being a part of five state championship teams, Fortier also owns two individual championship medals, capturing first place in the 100-yard breaststroke as a junior and a senior, bringing her collection of state championship medals to seven total.

“I’ve had a few weeks to let it sink in,” Fortier said. “I’ve been living off the adrenaline. Looking back at it, I mostly think of all the people, all my teammates and coaches.”

Both sports have been a part of Fortier’s life for a long time. She started swimming for the Heritage Pool and Racquet Club when she was 5. When she was in third grade, she began playing lacrosse, following in the footsteps of her older sister, Julia, who graduated from CCHS in 2022.

Visions of glory

Julia went on to play for Dartmouth College. Sarah played midfield for the Patriots, Julia was a goalie at CCHS and Dartmouth. 

“When she was home, we’d go to the turf and I’d shoot on her,” said Sarah, who will play lacrosse for Middlebury College. “It helped prepare me for the college level. She’d tell me what kind of shots she saw at the Division I level were hard to save.”

While practicing with her sister, Fortier also thought of situations like the one that led to the state championship-winning goal she scored in June.

“For the whole time I was in high school, it’s always been a dream,” she said. “With the game going into overtime, I was just in the moment. I saw an open lane and took it to the net. Then the team ran out on the field to celebrate.”

Her experience in swimming also helped her in the spring on the lacrosse field.

“After our first loss, I talked about some of the races I lost in swimming,” Fortier said. “I shared that experience and told them what mattered was where we were at the end of the season. It also helped me deal with the pressure of being a returning state champion.”

Girls lacrosse coach Erin Cash said Fortier is “an amazing leader. She’s always positive and works super-hard. She’s so resilient and so competitive.” 

As is the case in most high school sports, the best athletes in lacrosse and swimming compete in those sports year-round. In the offseason, Fortier plays lacrosse for the Revolution lacrosse team. In the summer, she swam for Heritage.

“For me, being in two different sports has kept me from being burnt out,” she said. 

‘Such a competitor’

Playing two sports has also given her plenty of opportunities to put herself in competitive situations, which has helped her on the turf and in the pool.

“She’s only ever swum [outside of high school] at Heritage in the summer,” said Patriots swimming coach Matt Goldberg. “She just fights really hard. She’s such a competitor.”

Fortier finds commonality in her two championship squads. 

“They’re both really close teams, with everyone caring about each other,” she said. “Coach Goldberg and Coach Cash care about you as people.”

This summer, Fortier is swimming and coaching at Heritage. She heads to Middlebury in September and will continue her lacrosse career. She’ll miss swimming but hopes to get back in the pool as a Masters Swimmer after her college days are done.

“I’m lucky to have had the chance to play both sports,” she said.