Jordan Roessler describes greatness a little differently.
By the numbers, Roessler holds just about every high school lacrosse scoring record at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School. But the Crusaders’ senior finds much greater joy in helping others.
“I really enjoy being part of a team and something bigger than myself,” Roessler said. “I find that I have a passion for helping other people and lifting other people up to do good. I think it really makes the whole cohesive unit work as one, and I feel it’s a really important part to lift everyone up around you.”
By that reasoning, it’s easy to see why Roessler chose the United States Military Academy at West Point to further her education and lacrosse journey. She plans to study life sciences on a pre-med track while serving her country.
“West Point is truly an honor,” she said. “I’m so excited to be a part of something truly greater than myself. It’s a super exciting opportunity.”
When it comes to lacrosse, there are few greater. On April 4, Roessler broke Bishop Eustace’s all-time school scoring record with her 210th career goal, eclipsing 2015 graduate Kristin Biche. Roessler will attempt to break her own single-season school record of 92 goals this spring, and she has an outside chance of hitting the 300-goal plateau if she gets on a hot streak, as she stood at 226 through April 21. Roessler emerged her freshman year scoring a team-leading 35 goals in a pandemic-shortened 13-game season, and she hasn’t looked back.
“She really set the standard,” Crusaders coach Kat Burke Esposito said. “She came in as one of two freshmen on our team. We had a little dip in how many kids were here, but it didn’t bother her. She just took the team and put them on her back, and for the past four years, she’s carried everybody.”
Roessler doesn’t see it that way.
“With every caused turnover our team gets, our defense works insanely hard,” Roessler said. “On offense, all the assists go toward every goal I have. We all work as a unit to put the ball in the back of the net.”
The Crusaders were off to a good start, winning three of their first four games before running into arguably one of the best teams in the state in Cherry Hill West on April 19. Roessler managed to score a pair of goals, but her team suffered a lopsided loss. It didn’t derail an up-and-coming team.
“It’s been a building block, one step at a time,” Roessler said. “We’ve worked really hard to get to the spot that we’re at right now, and we continue to get better each game.”
Roessler also played four years of soccer for the Crusaders and she partakes in numerous clubs at school. One in particular is a service club called “Friends of Rachel,” named after Rachel Scott, a student killed at Columbine High School in 1999. The club promotes kindness.
“We send cards to elderly homes and to homeless people and veterans on holidays,” Roessler said. “It’s an important part of giving back … and letting everyone know that you’re there for them.”
In addition, Jordan Roessler wears number 23 in honor of a different Jordan.
“Yeah, it’s for Michael Jordan,” she said with a smile. “He’s one of the greats for sure. He put his head down and got the job done every single time he stepped on the court. I loved watching ‘The Last Dance,’ as it was really inspirational. It really goes to show the mindset of the people who are absolutely great at their craft and know how to work for it.”
Roessler consistently finds greatness, but it’s not about the records or the numbers.
“It’s refreshing,” Burke Esposito said of her teamwork and community-minded personality. “A lot of people want to post about it or talk about it, but she just lives it. I’m hoping that at one point, she can look back at how wonderful she is and how much of an impact she had on this program and South Jersey lacrosse.”
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