Jules Lopez was thrilled when Pleasant Valley added lacrosse as a varsity sports program.

For the past three years, Pleasant Valley lacrosse fans have been thrilled by Jules Lopez.

Lopez began playing lacrosse in the third grade.

At that time, a high school lacrosse program wasn’t even a dream at Pleasant Valley High School. But it instantly became the dream sport for Lopez.

“My older sister Alyssa had a friend who was playing lacrosse and she introduced both of us to the sport,” Lopez said. “We started playing in the PVYA (Pleasant Valley Youth Association).

“I immediately fell in love with everything about the game and it’s been my favorite sport ever since.”

Fast forward to four years ago. Lopez was in the eighth grade and Pleasant Valley was playing its inaugural season of varsity lacrosse.

“I was already playing club ball from October until June and then working on my skills in the months in between, so I was basically playing lacrosse 12 months a year,” Lopez explained. “When I found out that I would be able to play for my high school, that was an added bonus that I was thrilled about.”

Lopez has turned out to be quite the bonus for Pleasant Valley as well.

During her three years in the Bears program, Lopez has been a three-time Eastern Pennsylvania Conference All-Star – twice a first team selection. She has also been an offensive machine, tallying a school record 282 goals in her career with another season yet to play.

This season, Lopez took her incredible career to even new heights, scoring 124 times and dishing out 29 assists as the Bears had the best season in school history. PV went 14-4 in the regular season and qualified for both the EPC and District 11 playoffs.

The combination of individual and team success led to Lopez being named the 2019 Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Lacrosse Player of the Year.

“We had a great season and Jules was a major reason why,” said Pleasant Valley coach Toni Bush. “She is a great player and had a tremendous season.

“Her stick work and her quickness is what sets her apart as a player. Our program hasn’t been around long, but Jules is putting up numbers that could be the best for a long time. She is an incredible offensive player.”

Despite all her individual success, Lopez said she was more thrilled with what her team accomplished this season than her school-record and EPC-leading goal total.

“By far, the best thing about this season is how we came together and played as a team,” Lopez said. “We had such a tight, close team this season. It was so much fun.

“The girls on the team are all such good friends. Most of us have been playing together since youth lacrosse and I think that bond played a huge role in what we accomplished this season.”

It also didn’t hurt that the Bears’ program added a wealth of young talent the past couple of seasons.

“We have so many talented players around me,” Lopez said. “I couldn’t have scored nearly as many goals as I did without their contributions.

“Our midfielders were incredible winning draws and getting us possession and the passes I received in the offensive end made scoring so much easier.”

The success PV enjoyed as a team and Lopez enjoyed individually this season shows no signs of slowing down either.

“We only lose two players to graduation, so most of the nucleus of the team is back next year,” Bush said. “We are looking to continue to improve and take the program to the next level.”

According to Bush, that’s another area where Lopez has excelled.

“Jules was our captain this season and that wasn’t because of how talented she is,” Bush explained. “Jules is a great role model for our younger players.

“She works extremely hard on her game. She’s always putting in extra time developing and improving her skills. When your top player does that, it sets a great example for everyone else.”

With a record-setting season in the books, Lopez is already looking ahead to next season.

“This was an incredible year, but we can’t be satisfied,” Lopez said. “We need to take that next step. We don’t just want to make the EPC and District playoffs, we want to play for championships. That’s the next level for our program – and I’m confident we can get there.”

With the firepower Lopez supplies offensively, and her fiery enthusiasm about the team, even bigger things appear to be on the horizon for the Pleasant Valley lacrosse program.