Girls’ lacrosse returns after a thrilling 2022-2023 season where they beat rival Churchill in the first round of the playoffs. Their season was cut short after a second round loss to Whitman but the team looks to come back better than before. They finished the season last year with a 6-8 record, just below a respectable .500.
The season opener was Mar. 21, where the Patriots took on a tough Churchill team in an away game. The team got it done in a 10-6 win in what was an exciting rematch of last year’s 13-12 victory in playoffs. The team expects to be just as good if not better than last year’s solid team. “I think we’re going to be a really good team this year. We have a lot of skill as a team so we should have a really good competitive season,” junior Paige Euler said.
The team is looking skillful and they practice daily with intent to develop into a better squad. There are a few mechanics that could be improved to further the team’s competitive ability. “We could work on better communication and connecting passes,” senior Katelyn Ahn said.
The team has started their preseason scrimmages 3-0, as they took down St. Andrews on Mar. 6, in their first hack at an opponent. Taking over the tough private school 11-3 in a dominant performance gives them a strong start to a hopeful season. They then faced Clarksburg on Mar. 11, where they put up another double digit score in an even better 12-3 victory. Their last scrimmage was against Northwest, where they tallied a sizable score of 15 in a 15-4 win. Every player showed confidence and skill throughout the entirety of each game. “Our scrimmage against St. Andrews was really good and the second one against Clarksburg was even better. I think everyone worked really hard,” Ahn said.
The junior varsity team is also kicking off with excitement as they look to return after a solid 5-4 record last year. They began Mar. 21 against Churchill where they had an unfortunate start to the season with a 12-3 loss. Last year they finished the season 3-1 in their last four games, bringing momentum into this season. The switch to the 3A division introduces new opposing schools that inspires the team to work harder in an attempt to take down tough opponents.
The JV team wants to work on improving their mechanical skills, along with their communication throughout the game, which they better each and every day during practice. “The scrimmages have been going well so far and I think the team could work more on receiving passes and ground balls,” sophomore Danielle Rubin said.
There are high hopes for both of these squads. Both teams are looking forward to an exciting and competitive season by staying consistent and focused during practice to directly translate to a solid performance in their upcoming games as varsity faces Kennedy on Apr. 2 and JV faces Poolseville on Apr. 3.
