"I actually started as a goalie," Berkery says. "They put me in net and I wasn't very good, but people seemed to hit me a lot so I stayed there for the year."
She moved to the field in her sophomore year of high school and hasn't looked back since.
Berkery has played for Harvard (incredibly, the only college that recruited her for lacrosse) since her freshman year, when the team defeated Maryland 8-7 for an NCAA crown, Berkery asserted herself as a precious freshman when she scored the tying goal to cap Harvard's amazing comeback.
Throughout the 1990 championship season, Berkery played beyond her years, scoring clutch after clutch goal. After the season Coach Carole Kleinfelder said, "Liz is a real gem. Being a freshman and having the poise to pull the goalie out and stuff the ball in is something special."
Berkery's special punchant for scoring led to career totals of 161 goals and 41 assists overall.
But it's easy to get lost in the jungle of numbers that Berkery has created in then four years of success on the lacrosse field.
This year, teammates say, as one of the Crimson's co-captains, Berkery showed how much that poise she displayed as a freshman is inherently a part of her character and makes her such an effective field general in lacrosse games.
"She's very positive on the field," Boston says. "If things aren't going well she'll bring everyone together and calm things down."
Berkery says she thrives on the leadership position she assumed this season.
"I felt good to be in a position to give other players the confidence they need," Berkery said. "Especially this year. We had a lot of young but really talented players that needed a boost to their confidence." sorts on the field.
"As a captain and a senior you kind of feel that it's your team," Berkery says. "My lacrosse experiences here have been by for the most important for me. The teams I've played on have always been so close."
Berkery's "maternal" instinct may be a product of her childhood which she spent as one of 10 children.
"Growing up with three older brothers was tough on me, but it's still so fun, I love it," She says. "My family has really given me a lot of support. I know there will always be funs at a game when my family is coming. It's been a blast."
Berkery also attributes some of the success she's had on the lacrosse field to playing the game with her siblings as a child.
"My brothers were really into [lacrosse]," Berkery says. "Switching hands is something that I took from playing with there so often."
Her teammates remain in save of Berkery's stick skills and say the Eliot senior has made one move especially unstoppable.
"It's a fake right and then a quick move to the left," Boston says. "She gets everyone with that move."
Recently, Berkery has been showing off that move and her entire repertoire of fakes, shots and passes at tryouts for the United States World Cup team that will compete in Scotland this year.