Julia Lee, St. Paul’s, girls lacrosse

Defender Madison Beale, last year’s All-Metro Player of the Year, had a season for the ages in leading the Gators to the IAAM A Conference title.

With this year’s defense mostly young and inexperienced, coach Mary Gagnon knew it would take a collective effort to replace Beale’s dominant play. Nonetheless, a leader would have to emerge, and Julia Lee has fit the bill.

Playing sparingly in her first two varsity seasons, Lee worked hard in practice and soaked in what she could from her older teammates. Now as a senior, she has stood out with the defending league champions taking a 17-2 mark going into Tuesday’s semifinal against Maryvale Prep.

“When it was my time to become a starter and have a more prominent role on the team, I took what I learned from my two years watching the older players and learning from them, I learned about myself,” Lee said. “I used that to not only push myself to get better but to push our defensive unit and the team as a whole to get better.”

Throughout the season, Gagnon has watched Lee bring leadership through her hard work and communication. And in the pressure-packed minutes during games, having the ball in Lee’s stick has been a comfort to the veteran coach. For the season, Lee has 25 ground balls, 14 caused turnovers and has been the main cog in the No. 2 Gators’ clearing game.

“Julia took a big leap,” Gagnon said. “You really want to see somebody who believes in the coaches, keeps working hard and believes her opportunity is going to come and then when it comes, really takes off with it. That’s what I would say about Julia and I’m really happy for her.”