Northport Girl Makes Puerto Rico Women's National Lacrosse Team

NORTHPORT, NY — Jolie Benabe's dream came true in November when she made the Puerto Rico women's national lacrosse team following a successful set of tryouts. Benabe, a 17-year-old senior at Northport High School, then got to compete with teammates, several of whom are going into college or in their mid 20s, at the Pan-American Lacrosse Association tournament.

"My reaction towards [making the team] was amazed," Benabe told Patch. "Just to see the fact that my growth in the game, my learning of different techniques and being able to put it onto the field, it just made me so happy that I see progress within myself throughout the years."

Benabe represented Puerto Rico from Nov. 14 through 17 in the PALA tournament in Auburndale, FL. Puerto Rico went 3-1, defeating Argentina, Mexico and Jamaica en route to falling to Haudenosaunee in the finals. Still, in earning the silver medal, Puerto Rico qualified for the 2021 World Lacrosse Championship.

Benabe said age differences among the team didn't factor into how tight-knit the women were.

"Everyone made it seem like family and close to home," she said. "There was nothing different, and nobody made each other feel uncomfortable. It just felt great to be on the team again."

What Benabe is referring to is her time on the U-19 Puerto Rico women's lacrosse team, where she was a member of the team that went 8-0 in the U-19 Women's World Lacrosse Championships in August. That would have been her last time representing Puerto Rico on an international stage had she not made the adult version of the squad.

A late bloomer to the sport, Benabe grew up in Queens where lacrosse takes a backseat in terms of popularity compared to the Long Island scene. For that reason, she and her family made the move to Northport in October 2018. She was then part of a Northport team that won the 2019 New York State Girls Lacrosse Championship. She hadn't even been introduced to the sport until she was in seventh grade.

During her time playing in the PALA, Benabe was one of four women from the Puerto Rico team that got nominated to partake in a trial for the Olympics, as the sport of lacrosse is eyeing a return to the grandest international sports stage. On the night of Nov. 16, the teams participating in the PALA tournament each sent a few women to participate. The entrants were all mashed up and separated into two different groups; Benabe and one other representative from Team Puerto Rico were on the same squad.

The teams tried a new set of rules, consisting of four eight-minute quarters, a 45-second shot clock and overall faster-paced action.

Lacrosse has seen two official stints in the Summer Olympics, 1904 and 1908, where both years, it had only been open to men. That could change, although it might be awhile. The sport is eyeing a return to Olympic competition in 2028, Around the Rings reported.

Benabe hopes she'll one day get her chance to compete in the Olympics, though she's happy to represent Puerto Rico in other tournaments until then. She still has one more year with Northport High School before she heads to college.

Benabe said she's received offers from Division I and II schools, though she's waiting on other offers before making a commitment. She's looking for a school that has her desired major of forensic science and minor of criminal justice, while still offering a good lacrosse program.

"Academics comes first to me, so I’m trying to find a good school that’s a perfect fit for me."

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