Girls' Lacrosse Player of the Year: Page Wolfenden

As much as the team means to Wolfenden, the attacker certainly had a big hand in helping the Knights to a 15-5 overall record and an 11-1 mark and the West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division championship. Wolfenden finished second on the team in goals with 53, behind Charlotte Swisher’s 65. Wolfenden was also second in assists with 25, trailing only Kendall Weigart’s 31.

But Wolfenden led the team in scoring with 78 points, earning her WBAL Attacker of the Year accolades.

One of the things I want my team to do is make all teammates look better,” said Menlo head coach Liz Schaeffer. “No play is being run through one person … but she definitely knows how to turn it to a different level. (She knows when to) just have a great game when we need her to.”

Wolfenden scored five goals twice this season and netted four goals six times this season. What might be most impressive, however, was her shooting percentage. Coming in the flow of the Menlo offense, Wolfenden scored on nearly 61 percent of her shots, scoring 53 goals on just 87 shots. As a team, Menlo scored on 55 percent of its shots.

“I think it’s really important to keep a well-rounded attack. I want everyone working together,” Schaeffer said. “One thing I want our attack to know is, I don’t care what your stat book is, anybody can shut down one player. Everyone (on our team) has the mindset of making everyone (around them) better.”

A lot of Wolfenden’s success can be attributed to the fact she has been playing the game since second-grade, giving her tremendous knowledge of the game and a high lacrosse IQ. Her experience allows Wolfenden to survey the field and use her skills to get in positions that prove most dangerous.

“She understands how to make the defenders move,” Schaeffer said. “She has great footwork, a hard dodge and has a good shot. She can pretty much play anywhere. She’s pretty versatile.”

Said Wolfenden: “I have a pretty good knowledge of the game and how it works.”

As long as she’s been playing lacrosse, Wolfenden has actually played soccer for a longer amount of time but doesn’t play club soccer, focusing instead on lacrosse year-round. Yet Wolfenden still plays for the Menlo girls’ soccer team.

And while she has excelled as an attacker on the lacrosse field, on the soccer pitch she is an outside defender. There seems to be little in common between the two positions, but Wolfenden believes her defensive play in soccer can help her attack in lacrosse.

“It’s kind of cool to get both perspectives,” Wolfenden said. “Being a defender in soccer, you see the whole field. I think some of that can transfer over to lacrosse.”

The Knights got off to a bit of a shaky start this past season, going 5-5 against a tough schedule, including a 7-6 loss to rival Sacred Heart Prep in the fourth game of the year to even the Knights’ record at 2-2.

But after suffering an 18-12, non-league loss to Amador Valley-Plesanton, the Knights ripped off 10 straight wins to end the season. They avenged their one league loss to the rival Gators, 10-5, in the season finale.

“I think we definitely improved a lot over the season,” Wolfenden said. “At the beginning, we had some pretty tough games out of league. But everyone gave 100 percent.”