Her mother, Anita, would’ve made her quit if she saw the hits her daughter was taking from larger opponents, Chevarie said. But after years of playing boy’s lacrosse and hockey, Chevarie developed an aggressiveness that she uses to her advantage — it makes up for the 6 or 7 inches that an opponent can have on her.
“I think a lot of people underestimated how strong I was,” Chevarie said. “I’ve learned to grow into my body in a way and trust myself.”
In high school, Chevarie practiced with the girl’s program four days a week and did ladder and flow drills twice with the boy’s program. Her footwork and agility gave her the ability to outplay bigger opponents. She can easily outrun and dodge defenders several inches taller than her, and she had the “fastest feet” out of any of the athletes at the academy, said Clem D’Orazio, her lacrosse director at Everest Academy.
Chevarie studied some of the unorthodox tricks she witnessed in the men’s game — such as behind-the-back shots or around-the-world passes — during the two practices she attended every week. Hanna Burnett, who was Chevarie’s head coach her senior year, said that Chevarie separated herself from the rest of the girl’s lacrosse players her age through the skills and aggressiveness she learned from the boys.
“Women throwing behind-the-back shots is fairly new to our game, she’s been doing that for years,” Burnett said.
Performing past her height and age landed Chevarie a spot on the Canadian national team — of which head coach Gary Gait is the general manager — for the 2017 World Cup in England. At 16, Chevarie said she went through a “shock period” playing with older players, some of whom were double her age.
I think a lot of people underestimated how strong I was. I’ve learned to grow into my body in a way and trust myself.Bianca Chevarie, sophomore midfielder
Alongside “high-caliber” players at the World Cup, Chevarie learned to make an extra pass rather than shoot, she said. Chevarie finished with one goal and one assist in eight games.
“That was the first time when she probably wasn’t the best player on the field,” D’Orazio said.
Chevarie didn’t start the first couple games, but the midfielder was put in at attack for the majority of the tournament. Burnett said they made the position switch because her speed and energy could help match that of the young, opposing United States team.
Canada lost 10-5 to the U.S. team in the gold medal game, but Chevarie’s play earned her a spot on the U-19 World championship team, which she captained in 2019. Her experience at attack from the England World Cup resurfaced three years later at Syracuse, when Morgan Alexander suffered a season-ending leg injury in spring of 2020. Chevarie started in four games at left attack before the season was canceled due to the pandemic.
