By Ana Costanzo

The beat of the clock eating away at the second half rang in sophomore Lily Dement’s ears as she positioned herself as the goalie, the foreign uniform clinging to her perspiring skin. Apprehensively waiting for PA junior varsity lacrosse team and the opposing junior varsity Bayside team to proceed her way, she became a bystander on the field, clenching her stick and planting her feet firmly on the ground to attack the inevitable rush of the ball flying toward her face to meet the net. When the time came to meet the ball and the onslaught of players, Bayside scored the final point of the night.

With a score of 9-5, the Bayside junior varsity lacrosse team won the first game of the season. 

Even with the loss, sophomore junior lacrosse captain member Sophia Winfield is proud of her team’s accomplishments last week. “We had zero subs and managed to keep the score tied for most of the game until the very end,” she said.

An average lacrosse game fields 12 players; however, the JV team only had nine players on the game night while Bayside had 15 players. Therefore, each team fielded nine players. Because Bayside had more players, they were able to rotate players which Winfield attributes to their success. Moreover, lacrosse is a running sport, and with nine girls not accustomed to playing the full duration of the game nor the positions they were playing contributed to the loss as well according to Winfield.

Indeed, the PA players endured foreign positions. Most notably, the team did not have “anyone who had ever played goalie before.” Two players volunteered to play the position, switching at halftime.

“The girls went on the field with only about 30 minutes of practice before the game,” said Winfield. 

However, Winfield is optimistic about the season with a burgeoning awareness of the team’s weaknesses which the players will be working on. 

Not only did the junior varsity PA team play on March 3rd, but so too did the varsity PA team. Playing against Menchville High School located in Newport News, PA won 15-4.

Situated near the opposing team’s goal, senior player Katie Dixon advantageously took control of the defensive’s opening to throw the ball to sophomore Mallory Lamb who shot and scored. 

While this scene exemplifies the PA team’s effective communication, there were challenges throughout the game, according to Dixon. 

“[Menchville] had one very good attacker,” said sophomore player Mallory Lamb, “so we had to make sure we communicated on defense. We ended up double-teaming her and made sure we shut her down so she could not score at all.” 

Additionally, junior captain Ellie Wilson noted the beginning weakness of her team, most notably the lack of defense and cramped space on the field, the players were not spreading out in order to steal the ball and thus propel the game forward with a perfect throw. 

However, Lamb recalls their resolution toward this issue as swift, becoming aware of their weaknesses in order to practice in the future such as ground balls and midfield breakaways. 

According to Dixon, the most important component in lacrosse is not the field position or physical strength, but rather, it is the strategies and plays invoking camaraderie in the team in order to “work as one unit together.”