Meet Women's Lacrosse's Special Recruit Zoe Pongo

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – On Monday (Dec. 15), Virginia women’s lacrosse head coach Sonia LaMonica announced that Zoe Pongo had signed with the program.

At first glance, this looks just like a normal commitment.

Zoe, a 17-year-old who just graduated from All-Saints High School in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, loves Taylor Swift, watching murder mysteries and true-crime TV, and her dog, Eddie.

On the field, she is a midfielder who has been playing high-level club lacrosse since 2021. What she lacked in height and size, she more than made up for with heart and tenacity. She is wildly accountable, demanding excellence and effort from everyone around her.

Even those who demand excellence from themselves sometimes hit a blip. In early June of 2025, she had one of those blips. She sent her club coach, Geoff Snider, a brief email stating that her hip was bothering her and that she would have to miss practice that day.

That June day is when Zoe’s story stops being anything but a routine signing.

Zoe followed up a week later and said she was going in for some imaging on the hip. After a series of tests and screenings, the doctors identified the cause of her issues.

Zoe was diagnosed in July 2025 with stage 4 rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer that had metastasized in her bones.

Even through surgeries and chemotherapy sessions, she still came out, as her health permitted, to cheer on her teammates at practice, sometimes in a wheelchair, sometimes just hanging out, sometimes shooting balls, to be near the game that she loved.

“In my 20-some years of professional playing and competing and coaching, I haven’t seen an athlete with the type of grit at determination that Zoe has,” Snider said. “That’s such an amazing thing about Zoe, and certainly a heartbreaking thing as well, is that she brings an intangible thing to the table that separates good athletes from great athletes. I’ve never heard her say a negative thing about anyone. And to be honest, I wish we had a roster full of Zoes, because she is the type of person who doesn’t take no for an answer in a good way. It’s one of those things where the world would certainly be in a better place if we all carried the attributes that Zoe does internally.”

Snider was in the States coaching at the IWLCA President’s Cup tournament in Florida, where he ran into Sonia LaMonica and her husband and assistant coach, Mike LaMonica. Over dinner, he told the LaMonica’s Zoe’s story. Sonia knew immediately what she wanted to do. She wanted to make Zoe’s dream come true and sign her to a letter of commitment.

“The opportunity to be recruited and a part of a college lacrosse team has been a dream of Zoe’s, and something that not everyone gets to experience,” LaMonica said. “This was a young athlete who clearly possesses incredible determination, positivity to those around her, and who is so passionate about lacrosse. She sounds like a perfect fit for our program so why don’t we sign her to our team? Let’s bring some joy to Zoe and her family during this awful situation and rally around these amazing people. I also knew our team would make her feel a part of the family right away which demonstrates the type of people that make up our program and more importantly the power of sports.”

After initial introductions via Snider, LaMonica made a video call with Zoe and offered her the opportunity to be part of the program.

Zoe’s answer: “Yes, yes, yes!”

“To see her excitement was obviously really special,” LaMonica said. “And seeing how much it meant to her parents, as a parent myself, was heartbreakingly beautiful.”

LaMonica called a team meeting with the current Cavalier squad and shared Zoe’s story. They were equally enthusiastic about adding Zoe to the family, writing notes and cards and placing them in a box with Virginia gear that was sent immediately to Calgary.

Zoe, clad in her new Cavalier threads, held a Signing Day ceremony at the hospital with her parents, just like a normal commit.

“I think every girl from the UVA team reached out in some capacity and congratulated her, after her verbal commitment and that alone was incredibly powerful,” Snider said. “It meant the world to her to be able to check that box and sign to an NCAA team, and rightfully so. I can’t think of anybody more deserving, regardless of this situation. Someone who embodies what it means to play at a high level and compete at a high level, because that’s something that she has innately in her, which is really cool to see UVA recognize that in a young person and provide that opportunity.”