As the handball season came to an end, the team felt satisfied with their 4-1 record. They started out their season with a game against Magruder. This game was brutal as our Patriots destroyed Magruder 38-20. This is quite an accomplishment as handball starts out each season with close to no returning players and an all new team.
Junior captain Julia Herman has been with this team for three seasons. “I think we played awesome as a whole, even with getting all new players at the beginning of the season,” Herman said.
They moved on from this win to Walter Johnson with a score of 26-14. In game three of the season, the team played against Blair. The team got off to a rough start and by 17 minutes into the game they were down 7-0. After this, the players turned on their burners and started scoring again and again. Nearing the end of the game the score was locked at 17-17 when the Patriots rushed on a fast break and scored, winning 18-17. “The game against Blair was really good and we won by one point in the last minute,” Herman said.
In game four of the season the Patriots put up a fight against Whitman but lost 34-28 on Oct. 13, bringing their record to 3-1. After another win in game five, the team moved on to challenge Bethesda-Chevy Chase. The game was a close one and BCC was up by only one goal with mere seconds remaining. With two seconds left, the Patriots rushed up and took a shot on goal. The goalie reached out the other way but the ball hit him in the chest and bounced off. Due to this loss, the team was not able to compete in the playoffs. Coach Steven McMahon takes full responsibility for this loss and not making playoffs. “BCC came from behind and won, [but] I think we were the better team,” McMahon said.
Even though the team was not able to take another shot at the championship this year, they all seemed satisfied with the results. “I think we did good. In all the games we played everyone worked together and our coach was great,” junior Hari Kannan said.
McMahon is proud of his team and said, “They progressed tremendously and are a great group of kids.”
Handball is all about team unity and making sure that no one is left out. “My favorite part of being on the team was seeing all the new players and making friends with them,” Kannan said.
Herman has been on the team for three years and believes that this team was one of the best she’s played for. “As captain it was great being able to teach them about what I have learned over the past three years,” Herman said.
