By James Joseph
WSL Senior Features Writer

Pinnacle senior Jenni Littleton laughed a bit at her own answer because it seemed too obvious.

Asked what she does best as a defender, Littleton responded: “Stay between my girl and the goal.”

That task is far more difficult than Littleton made it sound. Yet she seemed to do it with ease. Throughout the 2009 season, Littleton was charged with marking the best player on the opposing team. And she invariably came through – especially in the playoffs – with lock-down performances.

Led by Littleton’s strong play and leadership, Pinnacle boasted the top defense in Arizona (allowing just 80 goals in 12 games) and won the first state title in program history. Littleton has been named WSL’s Arizona Girls Player of the Year.

“We gave up less than seven goals a game, and a good part of that is her competing with the top players on the other team and shutting them down,” Pinnacle Coach Scott Stemm said. “She’s just got that competitive nature, she recovers well and – not that she doesn’t make any mistakes – but she always has good body position and the ability to recover when she needs to.”

Littleton finished the season with 16 caused turnovers and 25 ground balls, but those stats don’t reflect the total impact she had on the Pinnacle defense. While she excelled as a one-on-one defender, she also provided help and guidance.

“We lost two low defenders last year and brought two new ones in,” Stemm said. “Jenni was the rock. She helped them learn the position and covered up a lot of times for the mistakes they made.”

Littleton began playing lacrosse in eighth grade and initially played goalie. She didn’t care for that position, however, and moved to defense as a freshman. She was a natural for the position and immediately cracked Pinnacle’s starting lineup.

“I’m just not that offensive-minded,” said Littleton who plans to play for Arizona State’s club team next year. “I don’t care about scoring goals. Defense always was what I was good at and what I liked to do more.”

According to Stemm, Littleton “really came into her own” the last few years. Her impact was felt greatly in 2008 when she did not play in one game because of injury – and Pinnacle lost.

“It showed us how important it is to have Jenni back there,” Stemm said. “Not that the other girls weren’t good, but we just missed her presence.”

Littleton’s presence comes in part from the basketball court. She began playing the sport in third grade and excelled defensively. She brought some of the skills she learned to the lacrosse field.

“It gave me awareness of where I was supposed to be,” Littleton said. “And how to be in better body position.”

That position was usually between her opponent and her goal. And in 2009, Littleton stayed in that position better than anyone in Arizona.

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