Butler senior Ava Best, seated at center, flanked by Butler assistant girls lacrosse coach Cory Hurley and mother Ashley Best, signs a letter of intent to continue her academic and women’s lacrosse career at Allegheny College. Looking on are, from left, Brock Collins and Trent Best. John Enrietto/Butler Eagle

BUTLER TWP — For Ava Best, the spotlight awaits.

An attacker on the Butler girls lacrosse team, Ava’s scoring opportunities were limited last spring as the Golden Tornado had 10 seniors on the roster, including a number of goal scorers who helped the team post a 9-8 record.

Ava scored 10 goals regardless.

“She definitely has the ability to score,” Butler assistant girls lacrosse coach Cory Hurley said. “The skill set is there. We graduated a lot of scoring and it’s Ava’s turn to step up and be one of our leaders.”

Her skills have already been noticeable enough to earn her a chance to play collegiate lacrosse. Ava recently signed a letter of intent to continue her academic and lacrosse career at Allegheny College. She plans to major in pre-med and eventually become a veterinarian.

She also considered Mansfield and Pitt-Bradford before selecting Allegheny.

“I love the campus and it’s a small school, which really suits me,” Ava said. “They have a good pre-med program, which suits me academically. That’s the most important thing.”

Ava has been playing lacrosse since ninth grade. She said teammate and good friend Lindsay Gavula convinced her to give the sport a shot.

“Lindsay has recruited a lot of girls on our team,” she said.

Ava lists one of her strengths as leadership ability.

“I want to help us get to the (WPIAL) playoffs in my last year,” she said. “That’s important to me.”

Hurley described Ava as “a great kid who knows how to seize an opportunity. I have no doubt she’ll be one of our leaders on offense. She possesses the ball well and is a great passer.

“She’ll not only score goals herself, Ava will help set up her teammates.”

Patty Pehnke is in her third season as Allegheny women’s lacrosse coach. She is 24-10 combined in her first two seasons, including 14-5 last spring. The Gators lost only one Presidents’ Athletic Conference regular season match last season.

Seneca Valley graduate Kennedy Kyle, a junior attacker for Allegheny, scored 12 goals and added six assists for the Gators last spring.

Besides playing lacrosse, Ava twirls the baton for the Butler marching band.

Now she’s focused on improving her game.

“My only goal is to keep working hard and become a better player,” Ava said.