Sticking together
Norwin Girls Lacrosse starts off another season strong.
The varsity team huddles together before the start of the game.
Lacrosse: it is all about sticking together. Norwin’s Girls Lacrosse team reinvents themselves for a fresh season. This rebuilding year for the lacrosse program was exceptionally strong. With 17 players joining this season alone, and weeks of winter training, the team came into the season ready to succeed.
High school sports with smaller rosters, such as lacrosse, often have rebuilding years in which they recruit a large number of new players to replace those who have graduated.
The Knights started off another solid season with a record of 5-6.
“I think our team’s goal for this season was to improve from last year,” Olivia Brown, 12, said. “As a team, we are always trying to better ourselves. We also wanted to get more players into the program so we can continue to grow and progress.”
With such a large influx of new players, the JV and varsity teams have seen a tremendous amount of new talent on the field.
Practice, talent, and confidence instilled in the players by new head coach Mandy Payne, has allowed the Knights to do well all season. Payne was the assistant coach the last few seasons for the Lady Knights Lacrosse team.
The beginning of the season was a bit rocky, defined by multiple tough losses and easy wins.
Starting off with high scoring victorious games against Yough (19-2) and Greensburg Salem (19-4); from there, the team hoped to bring that momentum into their tougher games.
Despite their best efforts, the Knights suffered a series of losses against Upper St. Clair, Plum, Peters Township and Mt. Lebanon. In spite of the score against the traditional powerhouse teams, the players performed exceptionally well and truly set the tone for the remainder of the season. These games against top notch competition allowed the team to work on their offensive plays and defensive positioning.
The Knights practiced even harder, day after day. The next 4 games would be crucial for the team to earn a spot in the playoffs.
The Knights put their all into these games, and received wonderous results because of it.
Norwin defeated Penn-Trafford (22-12), Baldwin (18-5) and Hempfield (15-8). All of their hard work paid off. Their goals were clean, their defensive strategy was strong, and their effort was through the roof.
Despite this prosperity, the players faced a devastating 12-13 loss against Latrobe on April 19. It hit the team hard, losing in the last 5 minutes, but they bounced back nonetheless.
The lacrosse team hopes that the last 4 games of the season will go as well, if not better, than the first part of their season.
The team continues to make goals and work on their skills with one goal in mind: improvement.
“My goal for the remainder of the season is to keep our heads up and play the game like we know how to,” captain Raveena Navalgund (12) said. “I know the future of the high school program is in good hands with Coach Mandy and Coach Kloos, as well as the players of this year returning for next year.”
Elizabeth is a senior and a second year writer for the Knight Krier. She is the Vice President of the Science Challenge Squad, Treasurer of the Student...
