Despite a rough season, boys’ lacrosse fought hard to make it to the regional final, where they lost to Rockville 15-7.

In the final game of the Patriots regular season they faced BCC. With the Barons’ tough defense to break through, the Patriots would need to search for new ways to score. Ultimately, they were not successful and took an 11-2 loss to end their regular season. “The game felt sad because it was my last regular season game but we knew we had to get better for playoffs,” senior Argil Bilegsaikhan said.

Following this loss, there was a seven-day break before their first playoff game against Magruder, who they had beat 18-6 earlier this year. Because of this, the Patriots had home field advantage against the Colonels on May 9. “We weren’t afraid of going against Magruder because we blew them out last game,” Bilegsaikhan said.

For the first bit of the game, it was close: the two teams were scratching and clawing at each other for a goal. The game resulted in a 11-5 playoff victory for the boys, helping them gain momentum heading into their regional final. “We were pretty hyped after the win, and we started to believe in ourselves so we were mentally ready for Rockville,” Bilegsaikhan said.

There were only two days after the Magruder game for the Patriots to prepare to face Rockville in the regional final on May 12. Despite the circumstances, the Patriots were still excited and ready to face the tough Rockville team, who they lost to 16-6 earlier in their season. After traveling to Rockville, the game quickly slipped through the Patriots. While they managed to put up seven goals, it was not enough to beat out Rockville’s 15, losing the regional final and concluding their season. “It was bittersweet, I was not happy to lose but I think overall we had a great season and fought hard,” senior Max Greenberg said.

While it was a hard season that ended with a losing record, Greenberg said the team still had fun playing and he wishes he had one more season. “The best part of my season was beating Magruder in the first round of the playoffs,” Greenberg said.

For every senior playing a high school sport, the hardest part is knowing they may never participate in organized sports again. This important part of their lives that they worked so hard for it is coming to an end.

Senior Miles Sklar was cut last year, but he continued to play the sport to make it his senior year because he loved hanging out with the team. “This year, I wanted to make it largely due to how amazing the bond is between the boys on the team. I loved going to post game dinner and random hangouts with the boys,” Sklar said.

As for the future, the team hopes to rebound from a difficult year. The team is young and has a strong group of underclassmen. Next year, head coach Danny Phillips will have more experience and player development as it is his second year. “Many people got pulled up from JV to get varsity experience, which is truly changing as a player. It is a completely different game,” Sklar said.