Over the past three years girls lacrosse has consistently been among the best in the state. With an 18-2 record this season, the team finished in the top two of the Central Piedmont Conference (CPC) and will finish with three or fewer losses for the third straight year. Following a 10-2 conference record in the regular season, the ladies cruised through their first two conference tournament games and were set to play in the conference championship game on Thursday evening. The Titans were looking for revenge against RJ Reynolds, who dealt them their only two losses of the regular season in a pair of one goal games, but they didn’t get their chance, as the conference championship game was canceled due to inclement weather.
While the team’s chance at a conference championship was taken away, one thing that can’t be taken away from them is the great season they’ve had thus far. Head coach Doug Brawley credits their success to the work the players were able to put in on their own time.
“The time everyone spent during the off-season fine-tuning their skills allowed us to spend our practices working on becoming a better team, not just better individual players,” Brawley said.
A team’s success doesn’t just come from the practice field, but also their ability to play together. The bond this group has been able to create off the field has also played a big part in their success.
“My favorite thing about this team is that we have fun. We support each other, pick at each other, and laugh with each other. Don’t get me wrong, practice is serious and often intense, but that does not mean you can’t have a little fun while playing the game you love,” Brawley said.
The three senior co-captains, attacker Leah Meyers, goalie Morgan McDaniel and attacker/midfielder Aaralyn Russell have all experienced these three great seasons of success and look to end their high school careers on a high note.
“With this being my last year I’m hoping we will be able to make a deep run in the state playoffs. With the team and coaches we have this year, I feel like we have a chance to go do that,” Meyers said.
This group features a good balance of both experience and youth, as seven of the 21 players on the roster are underclassmen. For these newer players this season has been a lot about learning from the veterans on the team.
“The more experienced players on the team have taught me a lot this season, most importantly to not take my mistakes to heart and to not sweat the little things,” freshman attacker/midfielder Kendall Gurley said.
The ladies now turn their attention to the state playoffs, where they earned a first round bye as the No. 8 team in the West bracket and will play No. 9 Hough in the second round. Just because they’ve had great success so far doesn’t mean there isn’t room for them to improve and better prepare themselves for states.
“I challenge them to ask themselves three things. One: What am I doing right or what do I need to keep doing? Two: What do I need to start doing that may be slipping through the cracks? And three: What do I need to stop doing? Do I have a bad tendency or habit I need to break? I tell them to be their biggest critic and keep learning,” Brawley said.
Their first game of state playoffs will be [insert info here – it is very likely to be a home game – released today], and the players hope that fans will show out in support.
“I think that lacrosse is a really fun sport to watch, especially if it is a close game. We have had a really good season, with only two losses so far, and any support during the tournament would be amazing,” Russell said.
The class of 2023 in particular has created the building block for the future, as they have become the winningest class in school history, with an overall record of 52-6. Regardless of how the season finishes out for this team, they have continued to create a tradition of winning in the girls lacrosse program.