Caitlin (Gavin) Bliss is considered the greatest women’s lacrosse player in Rhode Island College history. As a center from 2004-07, she was a four-time First Team All-Little East Conference selection and was named the league’s Co-Offensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2007. Bliss was also an All-New England and All-LEC midfielder for RIC’s women’s soccer team.
At the conclusion of her lacrosse career, the Portsmouth, R.I. native played in 60 games, starting all of them. She remains Rhode Island College’s all-time leader in career games played, started, shots (671), free position shots (135), goals (279), assists (45), points (324), ground balls (339), draw controls (292) and caused turnovers (107). Bliss also holds virtually all of the Anchorwomen’s single-game and single-season program records as well.
As a senior in 2007, Bliss was named Second Team All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the Little East Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year and earned her fourth consecutive First Team All-Little East award. She played in 16 games, starting all of them, totaling 52 goals and 10 assists for 62 points to go along with 63 ground balls, 59 draw controls and 23 caused turnovers. She established a new school record with 13 points and tied a program record with five assists in the club’s 22-4 win at Elms, and tied her own record with 14 ground balls against Salve Regina.
Most of Bliss’s single-season records were set during her junior campaign in 2006, as she tallied program-record totals of 97 goals, 107 points, 220 shots, 101 ground balls that still stand today, while her then record total of 34 caused turnovers now rank second. Her record 94 draw controls in 2005 also remain the program record today. Bliss led all of NCAA Division III with a 6.3 ground balls-per-game average as a junior after leading all of DIII with 5.8 goals-per-game as a sophomore.
The Portsmouth, Rhode Island native was also an accomplished women’s soccer player from 2003-06 for the Anchorwomen and was the first player in program history to earn National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-New England honors (2006). She played in 78 career games, starting 72 of them, registering 51 points on 18 goals and 15 assists. At the end of her soccer career, she was fourth at RIC all-time in career assists, while ranking sixth in both points and goals – each has her ranked in the top-10 today.
Bliss earned her bachelor’s degree in physical education and health from Rhode Island College in 2008. She was inducted into the RIC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.Original source can be found here.
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