HIGH POINT, N.C. – Not that many collegiate women's lacrosse programs can say they have a player who is also a member of the U.S. Military. However, High Point University can and her name is Carlie Saums. 

The redshirt junior midfielder hails from Kernersville, N.C., and is a member of the U.S. Air Force ROTC and HPU women's lacrosse team. She stated there's a lot of sacrifices she has to make when balancing her work with the military, lacrosse, and academics. 

"I have a tight schedule and I schedule literally every hour of my day to make sure that I have time to get everything done," Saums said.

Saums started playing lacrosse in the first grade. She picked it up from her dad who played at Guilford College. She started playing boys lacrosse, but in the third grade, a girls team began so she transitioned into the league.

"I've known Carlie since she was in middle school, and having the opportunity to mentor her through every stage of her growth has been incredibly meaningful," HPU Women's Lacrosse Head Coach Lyndsey Boswell said. "She leads with discipline, integrity, and a deep sense of responsibility both as a DI student-athlete and as an ROTC cadet. I'm excited to see what's to come for Carlie and incredibly proud of the leader she continues to be."

Saums committed to High Point before she truly knew what she wanted to do. She did not pick a major. She started looking at what she could do at High Point and found the USAFROTC program.

The first person Saums talked to, in the military, was a fighter pilot. She thought this was very interesting and it sparked her to pursue a new challenge. From there, Saums chose to major in physics, with a minor in psychology, with the hope to become a pilot one day. 

"Once I make a commitment, I'm not willing to give it up," Saums said. "My freshman year I signed a contract that said after I graduated, I was going to owe however many years in the Air Force. And once I signed that contract, I knew that it was something I was going to stick to. Same with lacrosse. When I committed my junior year and signed my senior year, I knew it was going to be something I would stick with."

Saums finds what her job in the military will be at the end of this 2026 spring semester. She is hoping to be a pilot. The second job she would want would be the role of Combat Systems Officer (CSO). 

Captain Matthew Garza, Saums' Captain within the USAFROTC, is the head of the operations and education planning of a 106-cadet detachment. He is also the Operations Flight Commander at USAFROTC Detachment 605, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, North Carolina, and has been impressed with Saums' devotion in everything she does.

"Cadet Carlie Saums demonstrates outstanding dedication and commitment to the AFROTC program, consistently holding herself to the highest standards in everything she does," Capt. Garza said. "She is a superior athlete who sets the pace for her peers and brings the same discipline and determination to her leadership and academics. Most importantly, Cadet Saums models the Air Force core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do on a daily basis. She is the kind of cadet who elevates those around her and represents the future of the Air Force with distinction."

The hardest AFROTC related training Saums has done was field training, which is typically done after one's sophomore year but she could not due to an injury she faced. She suffered a knee injury during the 2024 season, which was hard for her as she could not play lacrosse, train, march or pivot with AFROTC.

Due to this setback, she spent a lot of time studying her teammates from the sidelines and observing her peers at USAFROTC. Saums was able to see many ways people go about their lives and the different ways to play on the lacrosse field, parts of USAFROTC, and aspects of leadership. 

Saums believes everything happens for a reason. When her teammates are dealing adversity, she knows she can step in and be that voice for them.

"There are times I couldn't walk by myself. I couldn't run," Saums said. I had to relearn how to do all that stuff. So anytime I'm doing something hard, running on the field or anything hard at field training, jumping over hurdles, obstacle courses, that kind of training, it's easy to look back and think, 'There was a time where I couldn't walk,' and it helps get you through the hard stuff."

After field training, this past summer, Saums was able to spend a couple of days in Washington D.C. at Joint Base Andrews. She studied multiple jobs on-site and was able to witness the impact of the training firsthand.

The midfielder mentioned a memorable part of learning about these jobs and her time in D.C. was actually being tased. She put on a bite suit and was bitten by a dog, and flew a helicopter around.

When it comes to balancing life, Saums likes to spend time with her roommates, one being Sarah Johnson. They watch a lot of movies and drink tea. 

"I think every decision I've made has a purpose. I love my teammates, I love my coaches and I want to win," Saums said. "I think lacrosse asks for a lot of things from you physically and mentally that are so hard to do. Conditioning or just even if you're having a bad day, still pushing through, and over the years having to push through that, I think has made me so mentally strong."

Saums is back fully healthy and will be taking a fifth year in 2027 to complete her major, and then will move on to work for the Air Force once given her job. She and the Panthers kick off the 2026 season on Friday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m.