JV Girls Lax- Girls eager to start season strong- Miller Romm, Staff Writer

The beginning of the season was approaching and the girls had their final two preseason games before opening day. The girls had to continue improving in order to be ready for the regular season.

After their win against BCC, the girls had confidence for the upcoming games. “We are looking good, and I am happy with how much we have progressed since March 1,” freshman Jamie Stern said.

The squad had five days to prepare for a tough scrimmage against Poolesville. They entered the game 1-2 in the preseason but hoped to end with two wins in the final two games. “These games are important for our confidence and our team chemistry,” sophomore Alexa Kantor said.

The girls came out hot with a 2-0 lead and were feeling amazing. From there the Falcons tied it up at half, 3-3. “Our defense was spectacular, we just could not find ways to score,” freshman Kelly Baldwin said.

They continued the amazing defense and every time Poolesville would score they would score right back at them. The second half score was the exact same and the game ended in a 6-6 tie. “We are content with how we played, and I feel like our team is coming together,” sophomore Kadian Griffin said.

The girls still had spring break in between opening day. They were given specific workout directions that they had to do, and when they came back a mile time was assigned. The squad also had to send Coach Lauren Zucconi their mile time, so that she knew that the workout directions were getting heard. “Running over spring break is helpful for our team and the success, because we need girls that can pace themselves and stay in the game,” freshman Emma Hoffman said.

The girls opened up against Walter Johnson, a game which would be tough for them. Last year the girls lost 16-7 to the Wildcats, but they are convinced that this year would be a different result. They went in confident but the offense started off slow again. The Wildcats came out hungry and ready to win their home opener. The girls quickly went down 2-0 and before the end of the half it was 4-0. “We were slow, and they just played more aggressive than us,” freshman Jordyn Delo said.

The second half followed the first and the game ended in a 6-1 victory for the Wildcats. The girls were disappointed in their loss, but felt as if they knew it was going to piece together. Their optimistic views help the team and the players; all of the girls are confident and enjoy playing with each other.

The team takes on Holy Child, at home on April 5. This is one of their two private school games, and the squad is excited to see how they compete with the best. After their 0-1 start the girls are looking to make up for it will a huge win over the Tigers. The Patriots lost 7-3.

JV Boys Lax- Team struggles at start of new season- Josh Levine, Staff Writer

The JV boys’ lacrosse team has started their season off slow, losing their one scrimmage to Poolesville with a score of 10-2, and losing their first game of the season to Walter Johnson 12-8.

The Patriots faced off against the Poolesville Falcons on March 21 for their first and only scrimmage of the year. Going into the game, the Patriots knew they were in for a challenge, and they were right. The Falcons were dominating the whole game, not letting the Patriots capture a lead. The Patriots ended up losing the game. “It was a rough game, we just need to keep our heads up and move on,” sophomore Ben Bloch said.

First year coach Benjamin Lee helps the team grow and build chemistry. “We have a lot of new players this year on the team this year. We started off slow, but everyday were getting better,” freshman midfielder Faraz Ahmed said.

On Mar 23 the Patriots faced off against the Walter Johnson Wildcats at home for the first regular season game.

The Patriots trailed the Wildcats the whole game. The Wildcats kept penetrating through the Patriots’ defense, scoring 12 points while the Patriots had too many missed shots and turnovers to keep up with the swift, elusive Wildcats. The Patriots were led by attacker, Bloch, scoring four goals and getting two assists. Other notable performances were from the freshman attackers Ari Glacier and Jack Greene each scoring two goals in the game.

Although the Patriots season started off slow losing their first two games, there is still a large amount of potential for this year’s season. With the help of Bloch and all of new young talent on the team, there are high hopes for this gifted and previously successful team. “We have a lot of skill and potential, we just need to execute better on the field,” freshman midfielder Minyi U said.
The team will get plenty of time to get better throughout the season, having six rigorous practices a week and at times being able to practice with and against the varsity team, giving the JV team a great opportunity to play against higher competition to help them improve.

The Patriots continue their season facing off against Northwest today and on Monday at home against Clarksburg.

JV Baseball- Experienced team ready for new challenge this season- Dev Zoks, Staff Writer

The JV baseball season has been rolling…but not much has been happening. The boys have not played a single game yet this season as all of them have been canceled, due to the weather.

On Mar. 21 the Patriots were supposed to play the Damascus Hornets, but due to the snow storm they were no longer able to play. Two days later, they were supposed to play the Magruder Colonels, but because of the snow melting on the field, they were no longer able to play again. “I was really disappointed that we were not able to play those games, I was looking really forward to starting the regular season,” sophomore second basemen Andrew Misovec said.

Over spring break, JV baseball did not have any games, but varsity had a double header on Mar. 26 against Whitman and Damascus. Varsity head coach, JD Marchand, called up Misovec, sophomore second baseman Jacob Glazier, sophomore pitcher Max Levine, sophomore shortstop William Karis, sophomore catcher Freddie Rodgers, and sophomore third basemen/fifth string bullpen catcher Darren Chang. “I was really honored and excited to be able to get the chance to play with varsity over spring break,” Karis said.

After spring break the boys got back to work preparing for their upcoming game against Blake on April 4. Pitchers were throwing bullpens and the team was working on overall defense in practice to prepare for Blake. “Spring break was nice, but it is nice to get back to work to prepare for our games,” sophomore outfielder Brett Olsen said.

On April 4, Blake was not able to field a JV team and had to forfeit the game. JV  practiced on the lower field while varsity played their game on the baseball field.  Karis, Misovec, Olsen, Rodgers, Chang, and freshman center fielder Miller Romm were all to pulled up to play with varsity, since the JV game got canceled. “I was super disappointed that we still have not played a game, but we are still looking forward to the game against Damascus on the fifth,” freshman second baseman Kevin Friedman said.
On April 5 the boys played at Damascus and won 10-5. Romm, Karis, Glazier, and Misovec came in big with two hits and Levine had two RBI’s to help push the Patriots past the hornets.

The Patriots look to get a win against their rival, Churchill, on April 6 at home. They tied with the Bulldogs last year 3-3. “That tie last year did not settle with me well at all, so I am determined this year to get a win against our rivals,” JV baseball head coach Robert Acevedo said.

The Patriots lost 11-10 to Churchill in a thrilling game where they fell just short of completing the comeback to beat their rival.
The Patriots play Magruder today on the road.