By Lia Villar
Before every game, the girls are asked to put their left hand in the huddle because it’s closest to their heart. They are also asked to mentally prepare themselves to face off the opposing team but more importantly, win or lose, the girls are told to leave the field with their heads held high.
“[Before a game I feel] very anxious. I always hope that the girls are ready to play and [hope] their mentality is out there to win. A lot of times even if we’re getting beat by two goals, their mentality comes down, [but] it’s about being able to get through the entire game whether we win or lose, with our heads held high and [playing] the whole 50 minutes of the game,” head coach Meg Lane said.
Moreover, the girls won against Cypress Creek (20-3) but ended the season with losses to Winter Park (11-17) University (4-13) and Lake Highland (3-21).
“[Sometimes] we’ll play down lower than our level but really, it’s about coming back and giving all you got. There are those games that are disappointing [and] things don’t necessarily go your way [but] if they play well, I always feel so proud of them and accomplished,” Lane said.
Beating their biggest rival, Edgewater (13-6), sophomore Lauren Edmonds had four ground balls and junior Brennah Mehan scored five goals. But the rivalry goes beyond the game, it goes to the girls of both teams, who have played on the same youth and club teams.
“Last season we lost [to Edgewater]. [This season] we were tied but then we started scoring more and got ahead. We played one of the best games in the whole season and we [got to] beat our rival,” sophomore Kiernan Mehan said.
Throughout the season, the team’s dynamic worked in their favor, even through the losses.
“[During] the Winter Park game, we were down by a lot during the halftime but we came back like we were a whole different tem. [Even though] we still lost, we played really well during the second half,” B. Mehan said.
In the same way the team has their strengths, senior Lindsay Miller’s weakness plays a role on the field too.
“I get really mad when someone hits me and [once] you get angry, you get a yellow card [for reacting but] I’ve done a lot better this year. I only got one yellow card,” L. Miller said.
Aside from team weaknesses, a team must practice. Practice started off with a game having nothing to with lacrosse but to merely start practice of on a good note.
“I don’t always like starting off practice tough. Sometimes we don’t even play lacrosse, we’ll play something different so that they love lacrosse [even more],” Lane said.
In addition to the wins and losses of the season, L. Miller shows her admiration for her fellow teammates.
“I thought we had really good games like the Edgewater [and] Winter Park [game]. There were some games that we just gave up [but overall] we played our hearts out and never stopped trying,” L. Miller said.
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