10 players. 10 basic rules. 60 minutes.

Junior Marilu Benavente joined the girls lacrosse team last year, making this season her second.

“I had seen a few videos of women playing lacrosse, and I thought it was really cool; I found out that North had a team, so I wanted to join,” Benavente said.

Despite not being an official school sport, the team still trains like any other.

“During the season, we train every day unless we have a game,” Benavente said. “We do what any other team does, we run drills, we do sprints, team warmups, team cool down, everything.”

Freshman Eden Gover joined the team this year.

“I’m new this year, so I don’t really know how to do everything that they’ve been doing, and so I’ve been learning a lot and just trying to get the hang ofall of the new stuff,” Gover said.

Gover was inspired by her older brother to join the team.

“I enjoy running a lot, and I also enjoy just staying active and hanging out with friends,” Gover said.

Junior Kaitlyn Netser is one of the captains of the girls lacrosse team.

“The environment is most enjoyable,” Netser said. “Everyone has a role on the team. That really just brings us all together, everyone has to do their part for success.”

Netser is the starting goalie for the team.

“I am the last line of defense,” Netser said. “I try to contribute by helping with communicating to the defense. I have a different view of what is going on than they do. I have to do this while being set and tracking the ball for a shot.”

Physical gifts are not the only contribution players can make.

“I would say I try to not take myself too seriously on the team,” Benavente said. “I feel like I make people laugh and I think that makes a difference.”

Many girls on the team did not play lacrosse growing up and only started in the past few years.

“If you don’t love the game, you won’t want to get better,” Netser said. “If you have the drive to get better the physical skills will come, but if you don’t have the passion you will never get better.”

Communication is key on the lacrosse field.

“The most important part is communication,” Netser said. “We try to play man-on-man but there is a lot of movement. It can be difficult to call out what to do with everyone moving. If you can’t communicate who you have, defense falls apart.”

Besides winning, the team has other goals.

“Our team goal is to win state just like every team, but we also want to show growth throughout the season.” Netser said.