Soccer, Lacrosse
Favorite athlete: Carles Puyol
Favorite team: Athletic Club Bilbao
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the league for lacrosse my senior year
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: During soccer warmups, I went to do a header and completely face planted
Music on your playlist: Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Olivia Dean
Future plans: Attend University of Rochester for Pre-Med and play lacrosse
Words to live by: “How you do anything is how you do everything.”
One goal before turning 30: Going to Medical School
One thing people don’t know about me: My dad’s family lives in Spain
By Craig Ostroff
During a timeout late in what would turn out to be the Plymouth Whitemarsh girls’ lacrosse team’s final game of the season, co-captain Kaiane Jayo addressed her teammates.
With the Colonials trailing and struggling to score in their District 1 3A second-round game against Avon Grove, Jayo had a very specific message to share with the team.
Her message was not one of desperation or pleading. Rather, it was about leaving it all on the field.
“It was late in the game, we were having trouble offensively, we called a timeout, and we were
running out of time,” said PW coach Ellen Reilly. “We called the timeout and Kaiane said to team, ‘Listen ... all we have to do is go back out there and do our best, and win or lose, we’ll know that we gave our best efforts. So, let’s just focus on doing that. Let’s do what we can to score, but just do one thing at a time, and do our best, and see what happens.’”
That calm, rational demeanor has been a hallmark of Jayo’s playing style and leadership style over the years, and it came to the forefront during her senior season as a veteran player and leader.
And while the season may have ended on a disappointing note (an 8-6 loss to Avon Grove), it couldn’t detract from the magic of the Colonials’ undefeated 10-0 league record and the team’s first American Conference Championship since 2018.
“This season was amazing,” said Jayo, who was joined by her twin sister Maite as co-captains. “Our team has grown so much, and it meant so much to be a part of it. These girls are special. I’ve loved playing with them the last four years. It was sad the way it ended, but this group of girls was a really talented and loving team. Getting to play with them was an amazing experience. It’s just sad it had to end.
“Winning the league title was a testament to the team. We’ve been working so hard over the years and this year. Things clicked this year and we won the big games we needed to. As a senior, it’s just such a great way to end my four years.”
Of course, Jayo wasn’t just along for the ride. She’s been a driving force and an invaluable on-field presence for a Colonial defensive unit that tends to get overlooked in favor of its high-scoring offense. Nonetheless, the defense has been the key to the Colonials’ success … and a key to the team’s offensive success as well.
“Kai is our low defense leader,” Reilly said. “We play a hybrid zone, so you need people to understand it and know what they’re supposed to be doing. She understands and helps her teammates understand.
“Kai can read what her opponents are going to do, and she’s gotten a lot of caused turnovers and knockdowns, and she’s one of the better transition players on our team. When we need to transition defense to offense, she gets the ball and gets it over the restraining line. Our defense leads into our offense. As good as she is, what she does and has the team do on defense speaks volumes about her leadership and her skills.”
And in addition to knowing how to run the transition and lead the defense, Jayo also provides an example for the rest of the defense to look to.
“What’s very important is that her demeanor and the way she plays has spread to some of our younger players on defense because they see how controlled she is and how that helps our situation,” Reilly said. “She knows, and she shows the rest of the kids, what you’re expected to do. And she has the attitude where, ‘You got beat? OK, we’ll get them next time.’ She’s really grown through the seasons to be able to handle herself that way.
“Both Kai and Maite are not boisterous but lead with their actions. The girls know they can come to them, can talk to them, and they encourage everyone to work together and be a team. I think that’s why we were as good as we were this year – everyone got along, everyone listened to each other, encouraged each other. It didn’t matter who was scoring or if it was a big defensive play, everyone was happy for whatever we were doing as a team.”
Finding her place on the field has been a journey for Jayo, who came in as a freshman and played primarily in the midfield alongside her sister. But as the seasons progressed, Reilly learned that if the team had a hole due to graduation or injury, Jayo could plug any hole.
So while Maite found her spot early as one of the league’s premiere scoring threats, Kaiane made her way to the defensive end, and found a position that aligned perfectly with her skills and – perhaps more importantly – with her approach to the game.
“If you look at Kai and Maite, Kai’s the more calm one,” Reilly said. “She doesn’t overreact to things, she knows what needs to be done and she does it very even keel. Eventually, we needed her on defense, and she was willing to play defense and she excels there.”
And even now that she’s found her position on the field, Jayo can always be counted upon to step in elsewhere when the need arises.
“She does whatever I ask her to do, and she does it well,” Reilly said. “She’s not our main draw taker, but she had 32 draw controls this year, 20 (caused) turnovers down on low defense. She scored a couple goals this year. She’ll do what’s needed to help the team.”
Jayo has earned all-league honors in each of her previous three years – Honorable Mention as a freshman and sophomore, and Second Team as a junior (the current season’s honors have not been released yet, but Jayo’s name is all-but-assured to appear once again ... as is her sister’s).
•••
Of course, when you’re a twin, you’re inextricably linked to your sibling. Kaiane and Maite are no different. They’ve played sports together for as long as they can remember – both were also key contributors to PW’s Liberty Division Champion girls’ soccer team. They hang out together, have the same friend group, have numerous classes together, and even share the same bedroom.
“It’s not a problem,” Kaiane said of their shared space. “We’re so used to it at this point. In the 
past, there were a couple times we had fights and wanted to switch, but at the end of the day, we love being together.
“She’s my best friend and I’m really lucky to have someone I can hang out with all the time. She’s my favorite person ever.”
Even when the two were separated, they managed to find their way back to each other.
“In preschool, my parents didn’t want us in the same classes,” Kaiane said. “It was - ‘We want them to have their own classes, be their own person.’ In most grades in school, we were not in the same classes. But in high school we started being in a few classes together, and this year we have all the same classes. It’s nice to spend a lot of time with her, especially since we’ll be apart next year.”
Of course, the two also have their differences.
“Maite is more extroverted than me,” Kaiane said. “I can be. In a big group, I’m more extroverted, but at home I’m the opposite.”
On the field, their differences really come to light.
“Both understand the game, both give 100 percent all the time, they listen and apply what you’re asking them to do, but even with their similarities, they’re so different,” Reilly said. “Maite is the one who’s going 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. She wants to go, go, go. Kaiane is more calm and gets people together. She can see when her teammates are getting a little overexcited and reels them in and says, ‘Relax, we got this.’ She does it with her sister, too.”
That said, there is no one who gets Kaiane’s competitive juices flowing like her sister. One-on-one matchups in practices are a sight to behold.
“I just hate losing against her,” Kaiane said with a laugh. “Things definitely get a little physical sometimes. And she feels the same way. It’s definitely helped me become a better defender since she’s so good on her 1v1s. Every time we end up doing a drill against each other in practice, we’re really competitive. It’s fun, but we do get a little too competitive sometimes.”
“They compete against each other like you would not believe and I have to tell them, ‘Yo, knock it off,’” Reilly said. “They want to beat each other so badly when they go against each other, but that makes them better.”
Being able to share the league titles in both soccer and lacrosse with her sister made her final campaign at PW extra special. It wasn’t just their last hurrah in red and blue, but it marked the last time the two will play competitive sports together.
“It was really fulfilling to win it with her as seniors,” she said. “I’ve loved playing lacrosse my whole high school career, and soccer as well. And to win the league and get to do it with my sister – knowing we’re probably never going to play together again – this was just such an amazing way to remember and way to commemorate how special our senior season was.”
In the fall, Maite will play lacrosse at Lehigh University, while Kaiane will head to University of Rochester to play lacrosse and pursue a pre-med degree with the intention of pursuing a career in sports medicine or a similar field.
“When we started looking at colleges, I think we assumed we’d probably go somewhere different,” Kaiane said. “I’d honestly never heard of the University of Rochester before I visited there. But I loved the team, the coach, it really fit my vibe. It felt like the perfect place when I visited it.
“I’m a little sad that we’re going to be so far apart, but it’ll be good for us to build our own lives apart from each other. It hasn’t really hit me yet. Maite moves in a week before I do, and I think that’s when it’s going to hit me. I’m going to miss her a lot.”
And Plymouth Whitemarsh will miss them as well.
“In Kaiane, Rochester is going to gain a great kid that knows what it takes to be good and will show everyone there what it takes,” Reilly said. “She’ll outwork everyone, and they’ll see that at practice. And she’s such a good student. I don’t think she got anything lower than an A her four years in high school.
“Kai is such a great kid who works so hard and has earned her way. She deserves the recognition, because defense tends to get overlooked in lacrosse, but she’s so important to the team. A lot of our success has come because of how hard the defense works, and she starts that. She chose to be in that position and she thrived.”
