Seneca High School girls’ lacrosse senior Dani LeSaint and junior Erin Kerstetter are good friends both on and off the field.
They’re so close, they can communicate with each other on the field without either of them saying a word.
“We just give each other a look,” Kerstetter said.
“It’s easier to communicate without talking,” LeSaint said.
They may be quiet sometimes, but there’s no doubting how potent LeSaint and Kerstetter have been for Seneca this season.
Few girls’ lacrosse teams have two goal scorers as strong as Kerstetter and LeSaint. As of April 27, the pair had combined for 81 goals. LeSaint leads the Olympic Conference with 44 goals and Kerstetter is third in the conference with 37. The only South Jersey girls’ lacrosse team with a higher scoring duo is Mainland Regional High School in the Cape-Atlantic League.
LeSaint and Kerstetter have been friends for a number of years, and their chemistry on the field exists beyond lacrosse. The two also played soccer together, allowing them to develop a stronger bond than other athletes may have.
“I can always read her mind and tell when she’s going to go to the goal,” LeSaint said. “I always know what she’s going to do.”
Playing soccer and lacrosse are not the same, however. LeSaint said she works more with Kerstetter on the lacrosse field.
“Playing soccer is much different,” she said. “Not everybody is standing in a circle around the goal trying to attack the goal in different ways.”
This season, LeSaint and Kerstetter have brought a new sense of confidence to the Golden Eagles. Seneca entered the April 28 game at Cherry Hill High School East with a 10–1 record. Just two years ago during LeSaint’s sophomore year and Kerstetter’s freshman season, the team won just seven games.
“We’ve stepped out with more confidence than in past years,” Kerstetter said. “We’re not thinking, ‘We’re here to beat them.’ We’re thinking, ‘they’re here to beat us.’”
“We can beat these teams we’re going up against,” LeSaint said. “We have the ability to do what we want to do. So if we can stay confident and believe in ourselves, we’ll be able to win.”
A lot of the offensive credit has been given to LeSaint and Kerstetter this season, but they gave a lot of credit to their teammates. LeSaint cited the strong play of the defense as a big reason the team has been successful.
“It’s not only Erin and I on the defensive side,” LeSaint said. “When the opponent has the ball, our teammates and defenders have to step up to the plate.”
The duo has also provided leadership to the team’s underclassmen, lending them a hand during practice and helping them with some of the skills on the offensive end. Kerstetter said the hope is to have the underclassmen step up into her role and contribute offensively as well. As a result, Kerstetter says this year’s team has been especially tight and playing well as a unit.
“This year, we have really picked it up,” Kerstetter said. “This is our year.”
Next year, LeSaint will continue to play lacrosse at Kean University, while Kerstetter wraps up her high school career at Seneca. Kerstetter said she’ll miss her teammate of three seasons next year, but vowed to visit LeSaint and watch her play in college. LeSaint said she will also visit Kerstetter when she graduates. Kerstetter plans to play lacrosse at Wagner College following high school.
