Emerging sport girls lacrosse opens season Thursday at home vs. Culver Academy at 6 p.m. with Makenna Kyska in her first season as the head coach

Patrick Mochen
Onwardtrojans.com

The Chesterton girls lacrosse team opens its season at home on Thursday, March 12 on the CHS football turf against Culver Academy at 6 p.m.
This is the first season of girls lacrosse as an IHSAA emerging sport. It had been a club sport in the past. And that’s not the only change for Trojans lacrosse. Makenna Kyska, a Chesterton Class of 2023, has moved up from assistant coach to head coach. Hannah Hall, CHS Class of ’22, is Kyska’s assistant coach.
“She’s a really good coach, she knows a lot about lacrosse,” Alice Fancher said of Kyska. “She’s more attack based and our assistant is more defense based, so we have a balanced coaching system.”
The tri-captains, all seniors, are Fancher, an attacker, defender Han Phan, and goaltender Bailey Pikula.
Fancher’s lacrosse career took off last season as a junior, and she predicts some teammates to do the same this year: “I think in goal Bailey will pop out this season and our juniors Fotoula Earth and Stella (Karriman) will play a bigger role.”
Although Fancher mentioned two juniors, this team is packed with senior power, with eight in the lineup. The seniors will need the help of other grades too. Lacrosse is similar to hockey in that there are continuous substitutions throughout gameplay, so teams go deep into their bench.
Talking about her co-captain, Fancher said, “Han is a really good defender. She’s tiny but mighty. Her legs move really quick. (Senior defender) Addi Glossinger is able to put her stick out because she’s tall and get in the way of balls, but Han’s so small and compact she’s able to stay on people. That’s her thing, being able to stay on people.”
Glossinger is listed at 5-feet-10 on the basketball roster.
Along with Glossinger, Phan has several other seniors to assist her on defense.
“(Defender) Marisol Pedroza has been playing for four years,” Phan said. “She’s been pretty good. Marisol plays crease and Ally (Schmitt), this is her first year and she’s already showing promise. She plays crease too.”
Phan plays elbow defense. For sports fans unfamiliar with lacrosse, picture the elbow in basketball and the crease in hockey for reference.
“Lucy (Staresina) plays midfielder, and she’s our super-Trojan, which is a special position. She helps out the defense and she’s great. She helps us lock down their offense,” Phan said.
The offense has just two seniors, hence why Fancher called out two juniors to step up this season.
“Alice is probably our best player,” Phan said. “She's really fast and she has great stick skills. She’s super good at fastbreaks. Annie (Leasure) has played every year. She’s gotten really good at ball movement and she’s aggressive.”
The Trojans have one of the toughest sectionals around. Chesterton faces off against returning state-champion South Bend St. Joseph and Crown Point in the postseason.
“We have a lot of potential,” Fancher said. Even though we have state level competition in the sectional, I think we have a good chance.”
Chesterton can’t control the chances of girls lacrosse becoming a fully recognized IHSAA sport with a sponsored state tournament. It must reach a threshold of 100 participating schools. At the time it designated it as an emerging sport, the IHSAA noted that 39 schools had girls lacrosse programs as of 2023.