Talking to senior lacrosse stand out Lydia Christiano at the beginning of the week, she said she has worked hard in becoming  “a stronger goal-scorer through the years.”

And that she has done.

Thursday in PV’s game against Montclair Kimberly Academy, Christiano scored her 100th goal of her high school lacrosse career. On her fourth goal of the game, Christiano, a midfielder, had official scored her 100th varsity goal.

Weeks ago, when the team was first starting to really work together, coach Melissa Velez had echoed that Christiano’s greatest improvement indeed was her accuracy and ability to score.

“Lydia is picking it up,” Velez said confident in Christiano. “As of right now [the team is] making shots more.”

But that wasn’t always the case. In the beginning, Christiano was a timid lacrosse player.

“As the years have gone on, I have become much more comfortable and confident so I don’t hold back,” she said.

The confidence that Christiano has instilled has helped her mature on the field as a player and off the field as a leader. This year, she was named one of the four captains of the girls lacrosse team. Being extremely experienced, Christiano believes that confidence is the key to keeping her teammates in the best mental shape.

“It is very important on the field to pick your teammates up when they are down, and to boost their confidence,” she said.

And her teammates and their bond with each other is one of Christiano’s favorite parts of the lacrosse team.

“I love the pasta parties,” Christiano said. “Nothing is better than the team all coming together the day before a game to pump each other up.”