The varsity girls’ lacrosse team continued to exemplify excellence and bolster excitement ramping up for playoffs. Sitting as the top seed in the region with a record of 8-4, they have only fallen to QO, Whitman, BCC and Sherwood.
Sherwood is one of the top teams in the county, holding back-to-back state championships. The varsity team had anticipated a frustrating, disheartening game but was pleasantly surprised by a hard-fought game resulting in a 14-13 loss despite leading at halftime.
Implementing innovative strategies and plays had been instrumental in the team’s success. On attack, the team had opted to use four middies instead of three and hold one player between the restraining lines. Throughout “this season we have been working on creating plays on attack like ‘isos’ and on defense, we have been focusing on sending slides. We are also always working on our stick skills throughout the year,” junior Emma King said.
The team consists of 11 seniors, 10 juniors, and two sophomores. “I think this season has been going way better than I expected. We lost a few seniors last year but everyone on the team has really stepped up and improved to fill these roles. We’ve also had some major wins like beating WJ and Churchill,” King said.
The vibrant team chemistry cultivated a high-energy, passionate environment. “I love watching my teammates grow to love the sport and building a team culture that they can pass on to the next generation,” senior and captain Maya Bellamy said.
Fostering a supportive, engaged community promoted flourishing friendships amidst players. “My favorite part of the season has been improving my skills and learning from and bonding with my teammates,” junior Kate Bardill said.
The JV girls’ team wrapped up their season on April 27, finishing with a 4-5 record. The team began with 14-4 and 13-3 wins against Rockville and Margruder, indicating an exciting season to come. With a developing defense and progressing stick skills, the team was then met with top-ranked teams such as QO, Walter Johnson, Whitman, BCC and Churchill, which resulted in losses. “This year was the first of our new schedule opponents so we had a more difficult game schedule compared to last year. The games we lost were usually close in point scoring but we fought for every point in those games. I believe our loss against Whitman might’ve been the best game we played overall, and that was coupled with us playing in 85 degree heat and being two players down,” JV girls’ lacrosse coach Miranda Custer said.
After nine total games, the JV team concluded their season with two more wins against Damascus and Clarksburg. “The JV spring season is very short and packed with games after our return from spring break. We did a great job having a freshman heavy team with a lot of players brand new to the sport,” Custer said.
For the varsity team, this pivotal period between the regular season and playoffs allowed for reflection over what helped them thrive and the areas of their play that could benefit from refinement. “Our team communication has gone well especially against tough teams [but] something we can work on though is creating more opportunities to get open on our offensive half,” junior Elena Bernal said.
The post-season is set to begin on May 8. “The whole team is anticipating a deep run in the playoffs and we hope we can make it past state quarterfinals,” Bellamy said.
