Once again, the Lady Wolves lacrosse team is among Florida’s best women’s LAX programs in 2015. They feature an offensive trio with All-American senior Leighton Yenor, who has scored over 500 career points; senior Haleigh Brooks, who has over 400 career points and was an Academic All-American herself; and Sabrina Guererro, an underrated four-year starter that comes through in the clutch. Tuesday Apr. 21, the ladies took on Lake Highland Prep in the regional semi-finals in a battle of experience versus youth.
Headlined by an incredible eighth grader, who is considered one of the best young players in the country, Lake Highland had only one senior. They had not been playing together long, and their inexperience showed down the stretch.
Despite having an 8-5 lead late in the second half, the Highlanders could not contain the dynamic offense any longer. In the match’s final minutes, the Wolves’ seniors took over. Seniors Leighton Yenor and Sabrina Guererro scored the last four goals of the game, winning 9-8.
It was a clutch performance of the ultimate kind, a signature moment during a regional playoff game amidst their dynasty, a moment they will never forget. Particularly Guererro, who scored the game-winning goal with just 45 seconds remaining.
“I was so focused during the shot, and I was just trying to keep myself mentally strong so that I could execute. After the game, I guess I just shed all of the stoic-ness and all of the emotion just hit me like a wall,” said Guererro.
Before the go ahead goal by Guererro, the Highlanders called a timeout to discuss their strategy. Lady Wolves defensive general, senior Mariana Hernandez took the opportunity to fire the team up.
“I was trying to encourage the girls, saying ‘this was our field; our game.’ We needed to keep our momentum going,” said Hernandez.
“I just think that when the rest of the team sees how bad the seniors want it, they begin to want it just as bad. In the huddles, when we’re all contributing, it really shows our focus and determination. No matter how nervous we’re feeling, we still show that we’re a united force,” said Guererro.
When the game clock hit zero, the ladies’ bench went into a frenzy and sprinted onto the field in celebration. They were one of the final eight girls lacrosse teams standing in Florida.
It was an amazing team victory for the seven seniors— Guererro, Yenor, Hernandez, Carol Avena, Rachel Lacy, Brooks, and Dana Derequito— that showed how having a strong bond with teammates can help on the field.
“Chemistry is so important to the way we play. You can have the most talent on a team, but without good chemistry you won’t work well together on the field,” said Guerrero.
Playing together for years has brought them extremely close, constantly playing pranks on one another and bonding off the field. They love each other like family, and plan on remaining friends through college.
“We’ll all come back during college to help underclassmen in the summer,” said Lacy.
Lacy will play college lacrosse at the University of Tampa. Brooks will play at Mercer University; Yenor, at powerhouse Northwestern University. The others will go onto their own respective universities and help coach youth lacrosse. They say spreading women’s LAX and making youth participation higher is something they strive towards.
The Lady Wolves lacrosse program is one of the best. They have four-peated as district champs, and are striving for state championship appearances every season. If this group of seniors comes through and wins it all, it would be quite the storybook ending to their miraculous careers.