DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

At church four years ago, Adriane Knezevic’s life changed.

Gail, her mother, had just wrapped up a conversation with a friend, who offered a new challenge for Adriane. Gail shared it with her daughter.

At first, Knezevic didn’t know what to make of it. It wasn’t supposed to be a spiritual awakening, just an idea of running around with a stick in her hand while others chased her.

“I thought it was kind of unusual,” Knezevic said. “But I definitely thought it was something fun to get into.”

Playing lacrosse has turned out to be the perfect fit for Knezevic.

She just finished her junior season with the Corona del Mar High girls’ lacrosse team. The midfielder led the team with 51 goals and added eight assists, helping the Sea Kings to a second-place finish in the Pacific Coast League.

Knezevic has come a long way since picking up the sport as an eighth-grader.

“It was definitely a little awkward to run with a stick in your hand and then get a ball in the stick’s [webbing],” she said. “I think I run better with a stick now than with no stick.”

If it weren’t for the churchgoer approaching Gail, Knezevic might have just run in high school.

Her older sister, Laura, ran cross country on CdM’s storied program. She wasn’t the best, Knezevic saying Laura “was just kind of in the background.” If Knezevic had chosen to just run, she admits she most likely would have stayed behind the pack.

Instead, Knezevic now stands out. It’s not like she craves attention, far from it. But being a prolific goal scorer and one of Orange County’s more dynamic players draws praise.

The sport is young, only in its second year sanctioned by the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports. During this short time, the Sea Kings have been able to count on Knezevic.

This made Ben Lin’s transition from assistant coach to head coach this season a lot smoother.

“She’s just been one of the girls that has really stepped up and just developed into a natural leader on the team,” Lin said. “Everybody looks up to her.”

Teammates call Knezevic the MVP of CdM (10-7, 5-2 in league).

Before the captain closed out the regular season by scoring four goals against El Toro Wednesday, the Sea Kings thanked Knezevic for her contributions. They yelled and chanted from afar.

Knezevic just smiled, trying to downplay everything. At times the spotlight is a bit overwhelming. At school, she said classmates always ask, ‘Oh, how did you guys do? How many did you score?”

“I just kind of want to tone it down,” Knezevic said. “I don’t want them to think that’s just all on me, because it’s really not. I wouldn’t get any of that publicity if it wasn’t for the team and the other girls.”

Knezevic finds time to escape. Some of her best days are when she’s not scoring four or three goals against Beckman, ranked No. 10 in the state by laxpower.com.

Those days are when Knezevic is participating in a program called “Best Buddies” at CdM. The program says on its website that it is “dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships.”

Knezevic does her part. She lifts the spirits of special education students at CdM. They return the favor.

“They’re always happy and they’ll always get you in a good mood, even if you’re having a bad day,” Knezevic said. “We go and have lunch with them and spend time with the kids. There will always be like music playing, so you get to like dance with them, talk about anything new in their life, how their classes are going, and anything fun that they’re doing.”

These students have a special place in Knezevic’s heart. She said it stems from her mother being a special education teacher.

Knezevic said this has changed her life. Because of this she’s considering becoming a teacher once she stops running around with a stick in her hand.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].