S

tanding on the sideline after a 19-15 win over No. 7 Penn on Saturday, March 7, at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Loyola women’s lacrosse coach Jen Adams marveled at the talent on the field — specifically sisters Gabby and Livy Rosenzweig.

“I say it all the time, to have two All-Americans under one roof in this day and age is mind-blowing,” Adams said.

Livy Rosenzweig, a junior at Loyola, got the better of her sister, a senior at Penn, on this day, tallying two goals, two assists and six draw controls in the victory. Gabby Rosenzweig scored four goals and chipped in an assist, but the Quakers fell victim to a late Loyola push in one of the highest-scoring games of the young season.

“It was hard because you want to win, so you don’t want Loyola to score,” Gabby Rosenzweig said. “But there were a lot of times, she would do something nice and I’d be like, ‘Oh, great job.’”

Outside of fall scrimmages, this was the first time the sisters ever played against each other. Not just in college. Literally ever.

“We both started lacrosse at the same time,” Livy Rosenzweig said. “She was in third grade, I was in second and our dad was the rec coach. The only time we weren’t on the same team was when she was a freshman in high school, and our middle school didn’t allow us to play in the high school.”

The similarities in their styles of play shouldn’t be all that surprising considering the hours they spent together in the backyard of their home in Somers, N.Y. Orchestrating their respective offenses from X, the Rosenzweigs move fluidly and make quick decisions. They pass accurately and efficiently. When opportunities present themselves, they dodge to the cage and score with eerily similar shooting motions.

“I feel like we play very similarly now,” Gabby Rosenzweig said. “In high school, we didn’t play similar at all. I never played behind. I was always up top, and she was feeding to us. When I got to college, I think I learned a lot from watching her.”

Growing up, the Rosenzweigs naturally had practice partners in each other. The backyard was a breeding ground for fundamentals, wall ball and the occasional trick shot. There also might have been an argument or two along the way.

After all, what are sisters for?

“Gabby would tell you the same thing, but when we were in the backyard, she would want it to be more of a workout, and I really just wanted to have a catch,” Livy Rosenzweig said. “Sometimes, she wouldn’t let me play with her because I joke around too much. It was a good balance between the two of us.”

“Oh yeah, that’s true,” Gabby Rosenzweig said, raising her hand to cover her mouth as she laughed.

***

At the 50-yard line, sitting near the top of the first level of the roughly 70,000-seat venue, a sea of Rosenzweigs and family friends cheered for what seemed like 60 straight minutes. To be fair, they had a rooting interest on both sides.

Close to 50 people were there in support of the sisters, with hundreds more filing in for a non-conference top-10 matchup. But these fans took sides. An even distribution of Loyola and Penn fans situated themselves at opposite ends of the sideline.

Toeing the line was the Rosenzweig contingent, sporting custom shirts with Loyola on one half and Penn on the other.

“The girls gave that to us as a gift for Christmas,” said Niall Rosenzweig, the girls’ father. “They went to their respective gift stores, got three or four shirts, and they have a high school friend who is a fashion major, and she did a professional job of cutting them and stitching them together.”

Their mother, Peggy, “never imagined in a million years” the stakes that went with her daughters’ first game against each other. Both Loyola and Penn were top-20 programs when Livy and Gabby Rosenzweig committed, respectively, but each program has risen to new heights with them aboard.

In short, the game was “stressful,” Peggy Rosenzweig said.

“To be honest, it was a little difficult to watch,” Niall Rosenzweig said. “I’m so used to sitting in the stands and rooting for just Penn to score or just Loyola to score, so it was kind of a weird emotion. We had a lot of family and friends there, and I kept saying, ‘We, we, we,’ but who was I actually talking about?”

Having two daughters playing Division I lacrosse at the same time brings its challenges, especially as it pertains to travel. Livy Rosenzweig said that it’s rare for both of her parents to go to one game. Instead, they split up and try to do it evenly.

“Once both schedules come out, we take a look and we might have to play Rock, Paper, Scissors for a few games,” Peggy Rosenzweig said. “Generally, it works out so that we go to the same amount of games for each daughter. We do get lucky. Sometimes, the schedule will allow us to both be at a game.”

Before each season, the Rosenzweigs playfully press Adams and Penn coach Karin Corbett about when they will square off. Adams said the stars aligned in 2020.

“We schedule quite far out, but we usually play Princeton with reciprocal dates,” Adams said. “They actually [didn’t schedule us] this year, so back when they dropped off, Karin had reached out about Penn looking for a game. It was a perfect fit.”

Livy Rosenzweig called it a “really special opportunity.”

“We’ll never be able to do that again,” she said.

***

Well, maybe they will get to do it again.

Given the cancellation of the NCAA season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent eligibility waiver approved by the NCAA Division I Council, Gabby Rosenzweig could return for a fifth year. It remains to be seen if the Ivy League will allow her to do so at Penn. Currently, the Ivy League does not allow graduate students to compete in athletics.

Rosenzweig’s name is littered throughout the Penn record book. She’s Penn’s all-time points leader (247), including the highest total in a single season (98). She’s sixth all-time in goals (121) with a chance at reaching Ali DeLuca’s record of 148. She was just two assists away from breaking the all-time assists record and currently sits at 126.

“It’s hard not to think about those things sometimes,” she said. “In the moment, we’re focusing on the win and doing it as a team, but now looking back, it is kind of disappointing.”

The goal, her father said, is to be back at Penn, but nobody knows if that will come to fruition. For context, Princeton’s Michael Sowers withdrew from spring classes just before the deadline so he’d be eligible to play for Princeton again in 2021.

The Ivy League is expected to make an announcement on its stance within the near future.

“She’s 100 percent ready to play next year,” Niall Rosenzweig said. “She wants to play. She’s not going to let her career end this way. That’s not her personality. She wants to write the script.”

Indeed, ending on her own terms is the No. 1 thought on her mind.

“I’m someone who plans a lot and thinks through situations pretty in depth, so I’ve had a lot of time to consider my options,” Gabby Rosenzweig said. “I’m just hoping that I can play lacrosse. I’m already imaging how amazing the whole season is going to be. It might be one of the best years for sports ever because we know what it’s like having them taken away from us.”

And for those picturing Gabby and Livy Rosenzweig together at Loyola, that likely won’t happen. The Patriot League does not allow graduate students from other schools to compete.

Whatever Gabby decides, Livy will be there for support, just like she has been these past few weeks.

“She’s trying to keep me busy,” Gabby Rosenzweig said. “We’re entertaining each other as best we can while staying home. She’s been really great with being sympathetic.”

That’s what sisters are for.