Last year and the year before, the girls’ lacrosse team took home the regional championship plaque after beating Magruder in the finals. The team had strong, talented players who led them throughout the regular season and a successful playoff run, but for the returners, stopping at state-quarterfinals wasn’t enough. This year, both the JV and varsity teams hope to have a better record in the regular season, and varsity, led by head coach Shannon David, hopes to go even further than they did last year in playoffs.
The team last year had seven seniors who graduated with a regional championship on their backs and they lost to Sherwood in the state-quarterfinal game. The game was a tough loss for the team, but they fought to stay in it until the last buzzer sounded. Having to go from celebrating winning the region to lamenting the end of the season was difficult, but they used these moments to grow as a team.
This year, tryouts began on March 2, marking the fresh beginning of a new season. After three, long days of tryouts, with one day being during a snowy afternoon, the final varsity and JV teams were decided, and this varsity team has nine seniors. Among the nine seniors is captain and Haverford lacrosse commit Maya Bellamy. Bellamy has been on the team since freshman year and has always had to manage the overlap the lacrosse season usually has with the end of basketball season. “I see this season going great. We picked up a lot of great underclassmen who know the game well and I can’t wait to bond with them and win some games,” Bellamy said.
The team is ready to put any mistakes or regrets from last season behind them and focus on moving forward this season, starting with two scrimmages. Their first scrimmage was against St. Andrews High School on March 11 and they played their second one against River Hill High School on March 18. The scores were not kept for either scrimmages so there is no record of them losing or winning either game.
The team won their season opener away at Rockville on March 23 with a striking score of 13-4. The first game is always an exciting part of the season, but there are other games that they are excited to play such as Churchill, this school’s rivals in every sport. In addition to the rivalry game, going back to the regional championship and winning is also something the players look forward to. “I’m most excited to play BCC and QO because they always play very aggressively and I’d love to beat them at their own game,” senior captain Addison Purvis said.
The JV team is coached by Miranda Custer and has also been working hard during the offseason to prepare for the start of their regular season games. Despite their season ending earlier than varsity, they still hope to end the year off with a winning record and successful season. The JV teams will also play a combination of difficult and light games that they hope will allow them to practice all aspects of their skills.
The team has big shoes to fill this year and since they are looking to be the regional champions for a third year in a row, they need to train and practice their skills and team chemistry throughout the entire regular season. After being ranked fourth in the county for the preseason, the players and coaches are confident in their chances. “My goal for the team is to make it to the further rounds of states and to just play hard, fight and sprint to get the ball in every game we play,” senior Jenny Brailovsky said.
