Girls’ lacrosse: Block leads the way

On a typical game, junior attack wing Vanessa Block rapidly sprints down the field, shaking defenders until there is nothing between her and the goal but the poor, defenseless goaltender. Quickly she heaves a shot that lands triumphantly in the net, to the cheers and high-fives of her teammates.

“She’s really fast and she has a lot of drive,” said head coach Leni Lodgers of Block. “She is intense and keeps up her intensity up 100% of the time, so it helps bring the whole team to be aware that we need to stay in the game and try to focus on what we are supposed to do.”

Block joined the Falcons last year during the team’s inception to stay in shape for field hockey. Although she had no experience before joining, Block quickly picked up the sport and became an integral offensive player. She is currently in her second year of playing varsity.

“My sisters said their friends had played it and they said it was fun,” said Block. “I like it because I get to score a lot and in field hockey I don’t get to score as much. Since I started playing, I’ve definitely improved I can use my left hand more, which I couldn’t last year. This year, I’m scoring more than I did so that’s good. I take more risks when I play because I’m more confident now.”

As attack wing, Block plays an important part in both the offense and defense. Not only must she score goals and help with the offensive attack, but Block must also run back to defense.

“She’s kind of amazing,” said sophomore goalie Megan Benzing. “She’s always really good at picking up ground balls and she’s always communicating when she’s playing which is something we lack at doing, so it’s really nice. She makes amazing shots and they’re really hard to block. She leads our offense completely. I don’t want her to graduate ever. Without her we probably wouldn’t make half as many shots as we do now.”

Despite the Block’s strong playing, the team has struggled to win with a season record of 2-8.

On April 21 at home, the Falcons lost 17-7 to the Palo Alto Vikings, but on April 7 at home the team had an impressive win of 20-4 against Harker. It was rewarding win because the team had a tough loss before of 20-5 against Los Gatos at home on April 2.

“It felt really good to win against Harker,” said senior co-captain home Jodi Huang. “It was like if Los Gatos beats us by that much, we are going to do it to Harker.”

Despite the scores, Block appreciates the cooperation and challenge the sport gives her and how the team is improving as the season progresses.

“I like playing team sports because they are more challenging,” said Block. “You have to work not only with yourself but also with others. You try your best and also try to push your teammates to try their best. I like it because you can see the team grow and it’s fun to have people to interact with when you’re playing. The team is doing a lot better than we were in the beginning of the season. The scores in the games aren’t as good as we want them to be, but we’re playing as a team. ”