By Joey Lavoie ‘14

After going 12-0 during the regular season and running through the state playoffs to the sound of 74 goals in the first four playoffs games, the Warrior girls’ lacrosse returns nine seniors. Led by second team All-Met midfielder Emily Kenul, the Warriors’ have jumped out to a perfect 3-0 start. as of April 8 After losing to Broadneck 21-5 in last year’s 4A state final, the Warriors come into this season as Montgomery County heavy favorites. This team returns a total of 151 goals to the field along with a lot of senior leadership with starting experience. Kenul has already scored eight goals on the season as of April 6.

Last season Kenul, a Johns Hopkins University lacrosse commit, paced the Warriors’ from the mid-fielder position, scoring 66 goals along with 42 assists during her junior year. She became the all-time record holder for goals at Sherwood, while still a junior. This helped a more veteran squad, who was led by a group of seven, now graduated seniors, stand out in Montgomery County, where lacrosse has not been very dominant, in the lacrosse-crazed state. In fact, she led the first ever Montgomery County team to the state finals.

“Emily has had a huge influence on the younger players that come out for our sport,” said Coach Kelly Hughes. “The growth in both the interest and the skill set of all the girls has grown simply by watching her play.”

Last Friday night Kenul and sophomore Taylor Andrews were able to continue the tear that they have been on since the beginning of 2014, scoring three and four goals, respectively, as the Warriors jumped on Walter Johnson, winning 15-6. The pair now lead the team with 21 combined goals through three games and don’t look like they plan on slowing down anytime soon.

“We knew that Walter Johnson would be a challenge compared to our previous game,” said sophomore Connor Ganey. “So we knew we had to come out strong and not let up for the entire game.”

The Warriors started off quick, winning their first game of the season against Blake 17-3, led by Andrews who finished with four goals. Kenul finished the game with three goals, starting her final season in Sandy Spring with a bang. The sophomore class seemed to start to put the pieces together on March 21, scoring seven of the team’s goals.

After a long layoff due to snow and rain outs the Warriors’ finally returned to the field and really took advantage, thrashing Paint Branch 19-0. Led once again by Andrews, who scored four goals, and Kenul, who added three more, the Warriors were able to jump out to an early lead and never look back. The Warrior defense was stingy, and the team allowed only one shot against the Panthers.

With a leader in Kenul, and a strong senior class, the Warriors understand that they are going to have to learn from their senior midfielder, going off of her cues. But by having this sort of age gap between the seniors and sophomores, stability can be formed for the long run, where a new star can be found for when Kenul graduates. With only four juniors on the team, leadership will be needed from the Class of 2016 next season, as the team continues to evolve into a county power for the long run.

“You can say the sophomore class is really big so we try to challenge them more to make them stronger,” said Kenul. “We are trying to prepare them to carry the team next year and for years to come.”

As the season goes on, it will be crucial for the underclassmen to step up as the team looks to be successful this year while also building a foundation for future seasons.