by Carter Braun ‘23

Junior Drew Stahley attempts to pass to his teammate through two defenders at home against Damascus. Photo by Maddie Trigone ’22

The boys lacrosse season got underway with a bang on March 23 with a 13-5 dismantling of Urbana, who are the defending 3A state champions. The Warriors followed that victory with a 12-3 trouncing of Damascus on March 24 before the game was suspended at halftime because of inclement weather. On March 28, the team annihilated Blair at home by a score of 20-1. These dominant performances are early signs of why the team has such high hopes for the season.

Led by 18 returning players and six returning starters, coach Matt Schneider knows the potential the Warriors have this season to go far in the playoffs. “Our strength is that we have talent and experience at all positions,” said Schneider. “We have size, strength and speed at all positions and [we] look to overwhelm teams with our depth and experience.”

With 45 goals being scored in the first 10 quarters of play this season, the Warriors should bring plenty of firepower this year with the return of their two leading scorers from last year: senior Gavin Serwer and junior Drew Stahley. That scoring prowess likely will result in lopsided victories against the inferior competition of Rockville tonight and against Magruder on April 4, as proven in the first games of the season.

“This team expects to compete for a county championship and to reach the state finals. We have tangibly written these goals down as a team,” said Schneider. The undefeated start to the season is definitely the first step to accomplishing these goals; however, the team still has many games to go in order to accomplish this demanding feat.

Senior midfielder Sean Scott is expected to be a leader this season and conduct the team from the midfield. He also has high hopes for the season but is not fully satisfied with the team’s play to begin the season. “While we had a nine-point lead at halftime, I don’t believe it was a good enough showing that represents our goals of winning a state championship,” Scott said about the game against Damascus. “But our 9-1 run against the previous 3A state champions Urbana just shows how much potential we have.”

Boys lacrosse had one of its most successful seasons in its program’s history last spring when it reached the semi-finals and lost 11-10 to eventual champions Severna Park. But the truth is, the team is not interested in making it back to the semi finals. They aspire to win it all. But winning doesn’t come without work.

“The team needs to put in work day in and day out on the practice field to make sure that everyday we improve,” said Stahley.

Obviously, the end goal for this team is to win the state championship, and usually a goal like this is unrealistic. However, outscoring their opponents 45-9 to begin the season really does suggest that the Warriors have enough talent and firepower to meet their lofty expectations and not only reach the semi finals but to win the 4A State Championship in 2022.