Valeria Villanueva, in elementary school at the time, offered to help her teacher clean her classroom. Among the scattered papers villanueva picked up off floor, she realized that there were fliers for the Illinois Girls Lacrosse Association.

With this being her first exposure to lacrosse, that very same day, she asked her mother to sign her up.

Villanueva was announced co-captain of the Lane Tech varsity lacrosse team on March 11. She has played on varsity ever since her freshman year.

The girls lacrosse team is coming off a 6-4 overall record from last year’s season. They achieved a win percentage of .600 and winning their conference, Chicago Metro Girls Lacrosse, with an undefeated conference record of 6-0.

The girls have great communication on and off the field, to go along with their desire to compete for one another, according to Villanueva.

“I think we all have a common consensus that we wouldn’t let each other down,” said Villanueva, Div. 981. “Giving it our all, regardless if we’re conditioning in the hallway or playing in overtime with 10 seconds left.

Girls lacrosse is looking for their fourth consecutive city championship. Yet, dejection still lingers in many players’ hearts for not making it to the state finals, according to Emily Cyrwus.

“Every year we start off the season strong,” said Cyrwus, Div. 876. “As we approach the state-qualifying game for the Sweet 16, which is the top 16 teams in the state, we choke. This year we plan to outplay the competition, claiming a historic title at state for Lane.”

Cyrwus has played on varsity since her sophomore year at Lane. This is now her second season being captain of the lacrosse team.

“To be captain of the Lacrosse team means responsibility, but it’s not a burden, it’s more of a privilege,” Cyrwus said. “Majority of the title as Captain is being a role model for the rest of the team; being someone the girls can not only look up, but someone they can turn to. I’m always willing to lend out an extra hand to the girls whenever they need it.”

The girls had their season opener on March 19, which was a non-conference matchup against the Lincoln Park Lions. Their dominance from last season continued as they easily surpassed the Lions with a score of 21-1.

For the new varsity players, their first game seemed even more special. Freshmen, like Allison Glenn, have been playing lacrosse since they were young, but have never experienced this level of competition.

“After playing the first game, I feel really excited about the season,” Glenn, Div. 159 said. “The games are fun to play, my teammates are fun to hang around with, and I can’t wait to spend more time playing with them.”

For seniors, they’re realizing this is the last few months as a member of the Lane Tech lacrosse team and they want to cherish every second of it, according to Cyrwus.

“I want to train like I’ve never won, pushing my hardest at every practice, and play like I’ve never lost, leaving it all on the field and having no regrets,” Cyrwus said. “I love the girls and I couldn’t ask for a better team. While we all come from different backgrounds, we all share the love of the game and it’s evident as we come together on the field.”