The girls varsity lacrosse team is back to its winning ways in the 2015 spring season so far. After losing a close opening season game to North Shore, the team has rallied back to win three consecutive games against Locust Valley, Oyster Bay, and Greenwich.
The Lady Vikings dominated these games, winning by at least seven goals in each game.
The team currently stands at third place in Nassau County Conference II, behind Plainedge and Long Beach. The team’s first important in-conference test came in a game against Plainedge in their matchup last week.
Both sides played hard, but in the end Plainedge ended up winning the game 13-7.
Going into the season, the girls knew that the Plainedge team would be one of their biggest competitors. The Vikings look to have a different result the next time they face the team later in the year.
After this defeat, the girls quickly regrouped two days later to beat South Side, a team from Nassau Conference I, by a score of 15-8.
With a record of 3-1 in conference play and an overall record of 4-2, the varsity team is looking to keep its strong play going as they get deeper into their season.
A significant change to the varsity team this season has been its coaching staff. The two key parts of the team’s early success are first-year coaches Ms. Kaitlyn Carter and Ms. Kathleen Lennon. Both coaches say that the team is one of the most athletic and aggressive that they have ever seen. At this point in the season, it seems as if the girls will improve on last year’s overall record of 9-6.
Two people that are also leaders of this team on the field are senior captains Mia Walker and Olivia Ressa.
A big part of the team’s motivational strategy this season has been to always encourage one another. Both Walker and Ressa make sure that the team always has this mentality.
Although it is still early into the season, the Vikings are showing qualities that they believe will make them a tough team to beat when they are playing at their best.
On one side of the field, sophomore goaltender Claudia Hanover has stood out, recording 46 saves in the first six games of the season.
Walker leads the defense along with others such as fellow senior Diandra Burton and junior Emma Kabuto.
“Our defense is really strong this year,” said Walker. “We’ve been playing together for a few years so we work very well together.”
On the other side of the field, the attack is led by Ressa, who is among the team’s leaders in scoring. She has scored twenty points thus far this season.
Sophomore attack player Rachel Rosen has also been putting up high numbers so far and is another one of the key offense players.
With this many standout players on the team, the season expectation of the Girls Varsity team is simple: win the Nassau Conference II championship.
Both Coach Carter and Coach Lennon believe strongly that their team could achieve this goal. They always say that the sky is the limit with this team, and that if the girls keep working hard, they will go as far as they want.