2022 Northwest Herald Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year: Crystal Lake Central co-op’s Piper LeFevre

Piper LeFevre used a strong junior season to raise the bar during her senior year.

The Crystal Lake Central co-op midfielder and Prairie Ridge student won the Northwest Herald’s 2021 Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year honor and used it as motivation to work on her skills during the offseason to help the Tigers program continue its growth.

LeFevre scored 64 goals and tallied 20 assists to finish the season with 84 points, leading the Fox Valley Conference. She also had 97 draw controls, which all led to All-State Honorable Mention and All-Sectional honors from the Illinois Girls Lacrosse Coaches Association and Fox Valley Conference All-Conference accolades.

The senior led a Tigers team that in its second varsity season won a program-best 19 games, captured a second consecutive FVC title and earned a trip to the supersectional round by winning its first sectional title.

For her efforts, LeFevre has been named the 2022 Northwest Herald Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year as selected by the sports staff with input from area coaches. Huntley’s Kyleigh Higgins also was considered for the honor.

Sports writer Michal Dwojak had some questions for LeFevre about her life on and off the field.

What will you remember the most about your senior season?

I’m going to remember how well my team worked together. We worked really hard in the offseason and we all got along really well. We’re all best friends on and off the field, which helps with team chemistry. Also, all that we accomplished this season because of that teamwork.

What was it like being part of the growth of girls lacrosse in the area as part of the co-op?

It’s definitely a fast-growing sport but it’s cool to be a part of making history at Central. No other team has done as much as we have, which is kind of cool that we’re getting it started and it’s attracting younger girls in the area to do feeder teams and travel teams, growing the sport.

How excited are you to play lacrosse at Carthage College?

I’m excited for a new challenge because I’ve been playing here for four years, so it’s going to be a completely different game at Carthage, but I’m super excited for all the new challenges and scenarios that are going to come my way.

What is your dream job?

I want to be an elementary education teacher hopefully somewhere around here.

What musical act do you really want to see this summer?

I’m going to Country Thunder because I really like country music and I really like Morgan Wallen, so if I could see anyone, I would probably see him.

What is the last good book that you read?

I really like “The Secret Life of Bees.” It was years ago since I read it but I know the message was to take something and make it out of nothing.

Who was your favorite Disney character as a kid?

I really liked Cinderella. I guess when I was younger I just thought that I looked like her so I like her for that. She was just a very kind character with a good heart.

If you could change one thing about lacrosse what would it be?

I would change the level of physicality that we play at because I feel like our team always got yellow cards, which are just punishments for being too aggressive on the field. So I feel like if I could change something, I’d make it a little more aggressive because we played good defense but we would always get in trouble.

What sport are you not very good at?

I’m not very good at golf. I only play once in a while for fun.

If you celebrated a goal like NFL players celebrate their touchdowns, what would you and your teammates do?

We would just all come together in a circle and touch sticks. We would congratulate the person and talk about what would work on the field and what doesn’t work. It’s like a mini game plan.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would go to Hawaii.

If you could be any animal, which would you be?

I would be a dog because they’re just a lot like humans. They understand things and I really like dogs.