Senior back Delaney Lawler (9) sends the ball down the field. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
Growing up, Martin and Rachel Lawler taught their daughters to “always stick with your blood.”
Now, Delaney and Margaret Lawler not only have a blood bond — they have a Buckeye bond.
Delaney Lawler, a senior back on the field hockey team, and Margaret Lawler, a sophomore defender on the women’s lacrosse team, grew up together in Moorestown, New Jersey. Now, they are both Ohio State student-athletes.
“Knowing that she has my back, and she knows day to day what I’m going through out here is awesome,” Delaney Lawler said. “She’s my best friend.”
The sisters both played on the field hockey and lacrosse teams together at Moorestown High School for two years, where they won four state championships.
Delaney Lawler said the sisters would fight when they were younger but became best friends when they began playing on the same teams.
“It was the stepping stone into our relationship,” Delaney Lawler said. “It definitely opened the door to me seeing her much more as a friend. Now, we bond over everything.”
Delaney Lawler said she first visited Ohio State as a high school sophomore the day after her high school lacrosse team lost the New Jersey state final. She said head coach Jarred Martin and Ohio State’s large athletic program enticed her into becoming a Buckeye before the 2019 season.
“When she went to Ohio State and was able to meet with the coaches and see the campus for the first time, I think it was a game changer for her,” Rachel Lawler said.
Margaret Lawler said going to her sister’s first collegiate game was surreal.
“It made me so proud of her because I know how hard she had worked for that,” Margaret Lawler said. “I knew she deserved every second of it. It made me want to work even harder to be in the same position.”
Margaret Lawler said she was drawn to Ohio State when her family went to a football game on one of Delaney Lawler’s visits. She said the culture, pride and community stood out to her.
“It was mind-blowing seeing how much everybody loved this campus and this team,” Margaret Lawler said. “Ever since I went to that football game day, I said, ‘I want to go there.’”
Delaney Lawler said she did not want her sister to feel any pressure from her to choose Ohio State during the recruiting process. She wanted Margaret Lawler to make the decision for herself and find a school where she would be happy, she said.
Margaret Lawler’s decision was to wear scarlet and gray.
“When I got the phone call that she was going to be a Buckeye, I couldn’t have been any more excited,” Delaney Lawler said. “Those two years we were together in high school were some of my favorite memories, so I was so excited to have two more years with her.”
Margaret Lawler said her older sister played a factor in her decision.
“It made me more comfortable coming here knowing I had somebody,” Margaret Lawler said. “Her being another plus-one factor drew me in more.”
Martin Lawler said he never imagined both his daughters would attend the same university.
“You just want your kids to find a place where they are going to be happy,” Martin Lawler said. “To have it be the same place for both of them at the same time is crazy.”
When one of the sisters is playing a game, the other is in the crowd cheering them on.
“I get to be her biggest cheerleader, which was a role I didn’t have when we played together,” Delaney Lawler said. “To be able to put on a coat and go see her games and cheer her on is so much fun.”
They aren’t the only family in the stands. Martin and Rachel Lawler said they drive seven hours from New Jersey to sit in the bleachers every time their daughters take the field.
On Sunday nights, the sisters turn on music, make homemade pasta and share laughs together. Margaret Lawler said these are her favorite memories with her sister in college.
“It’s moments like that where we can just sit and be with each other and not worry about school and not worry about our sports or any stressors in life,” Margaret Lawler said. “It feels like home, and it just feels so good to be with each other.”
