By Jason Benedek, Sports Editor; and Ellie Goldberg, Staff Writer
Now that it is May, Maryland State Lacrosse Playoffs have finally arrived. The River Hill boys and girls lacrosse teams are both looking to make a deep playoff run this season, and compete for a county championship.
With a regular season record of 8-4, the boys lacrosse team finished the season with a number one seed in their playoff group consisting of them, Atholton, Reservoir and Long Reach. The team has been led by senior captains, Bob Lovell, Kody Johnson and Colin Fowler.
“I’m proud of how we did in the regular season,” claims Bob Lovell, “We had a solid first half of the season, fell into a little slump, then picked our momentum back up towards the end. Our job is far from done though. I want to win a State Championship.”
They faced the Long Reach Lightning on Thursday, May 11 for their opening game of the playoffs. Regarding the hype for the first playoff game of the season, senior Arthur Wang stated, “Even though Long Reach struggled this season, we can’t overlook them. We can’t overlook anyone in the playoffs as a matter of fact. We are all well aware that anything can happen in the playoffs.”
This team has faced a ton of adversity this season. With injuries to impact players like Zahin Oza, Max Deiulius and Nate Bacon sidelining them for a portion of the season, to going through a three-game loing streak to Marriotts Ridge, Glenelg and Mount Hebron, the team has had a positive mindset all season. At one point in the season, they even had a complete team reset, where they had to earn their jerseys back by playing with high intensity and extreme effort in practice. It is one of Coach Gonsouland’s signature sayings that, “There are two things you can always control in life: your attitude and your actions.” The River Hill Boys Lacrosse Team is ready for the playoffs, and prepared to not only face adversity, but build momentum off of it as well.
Girls lacrosse, led by senior captains Ella Ferrer and Georgia Schwab, have had a solid season, only losing four games. Approaching playoffs, their first game against Atholton will prove to be a challenging game, even though Atholton’s team has a slightly worse record. Especially since Atholton is a long-time rival of River Hill, this game should be exciting and competitive. Junior Megan Iacobellis says, “The season has been challenging but overall successful. Our team has really come together and we’re looking good as we near the playoffs.”
Senior Cade McGeehan reflects upon her final games, saying “It’s been a tiring but fun season with the team. We’ve come a long way from our first practices and hopefully we can show the county what we’ve been working on in the playoffs. I’m sad to be approaching my last ever lacrosse games.” Not only are these the senior’s last games, but also their last ever high school sports games, as spring season wraps up high school sports.
The River Hill lacrosse programs, as popular as they are, have created teams that work together to create success and move forward through games, and hopefully playoffs. It’s now up to the teams to execute their skills from the regular season to playoff season.