With spring finally here, the lacrosse season is in full swing after last year’s disappointing season and a tough regional final loss.
The boys’ lacrosse team is looking to come back and improve this season. Entering Head Coach Danny Phillips’ second year, the team has gone through major changes from last season, losing key seniors such as Matthew Xu, Argil Bilegsaikhan and Max Greenberg. However, the team has also been able to bring in new talent, with prime examples being junior Keon Gray and junior Max Lee. “We lost a lot of seniors last season, but the new players have improved a lot since the beginning of the season, and I am hoping to see them improve more as we go into the season,” junior Caleb Cook said.
Despite the loss of key players, the team has started the year strong, going 4-0 in scrimmages. These early matchups helped the team build chemistry and have allowed players to step up and fill the shoes of the departed seniors. The team carried this momentum into the regular season with their home and season opener on March 23, securing a 7-6 win in a hard-fought game. The win was especially meaningful as Rockville is the same team that ended their season last year in the regional finals. “It was really special to be able to beat the team who beat us and ended our season last year in the regional finals,” junior Kai Konno-Renderos said.
The team has a tough stretch of games coming up first being Magruder on March 25, followed by a double header on March 30, against Gaithersburg and Quince Orchard heading into spring break. The team will need to maintain the level of play they have displayed so far in their scrimmages and in their strong season opener against Rockville if they want to have success heading into this rough stretch of the season. If the mix of new and experienced players on the team can continue their early momentum and stay consistent through the rest of the year, this season could be a step up from last season. “If we can be consistent throughout the season and everyone works hard to keep improving I think we will have a very fun and exciting season and hopefully a good end of season result,” Cook said.
As for the junior varsity team led by Coach Ben Lee, expectations are high after a 5-4 season last year, which showcased the young talent in the lacrosse program who are now proving their worth and shining on varsity. The team opened the season strong, going 4-0 as well in their scrimmages and carried that momentum into their season opener winning 11-2 against Rockville. The team has a game against Magruder on March 25 before heading off into spring break. “I think we can have a great season if we carry our momentum and keep up our consistency and our good teamwork,” sophomore Eshaan Mishra said.
