This previous Thursday, March 23, the Forest Hills Central girls varsity lacrosse team took on Caledonia to start off its season. The team won 16-5 taking down Caledonia and walking away with its first official win of the season. 

Not only were the girls ecstatic heading into this game, but the team was thoroughly confident in its abilities both as individuals and as a team. Sophomore Jordan Koning said, “We were feeling really good and I think we played really well together at the first couple of practices and we brought all of that to the game.” The team has been preparing for its first game and was able to take everything they have been working hard on and showcase it in an official live game. 

The girls started scoring very early in the game and by the first half, the score was 10-1 putting FHC in the lead. Throughout the entirety of this game, the girls were able to hold onto this lead in the score which gave them some wiggle room to do what they typically would not do on the field. Sophomore Coco Mehney talked about some switches made in the second half saying, “We all switched around positions in the second half so it was cool to see some of our defensive players score goals like Margaret English.” The switch in the lineups was not shown to set the girls back as senior Shannon Murphy said, “Having 16 goals from 10 different people with 11 assists was probably our strongest highlight demonstrating an amazing team effort.” 

Not only was this the first game of the season for the team, but the first time some players stepped on the field in a varsity game. Sophomore Ellyana Teliczan speaks about her experience in the game stating, “For me, it was a lot different than playing on a JV level. The game was definitely a lot faster pace and it was fun to be able to play with people I have never played with before that are at a higher level than me. I am able to play with Division I athletes and learn from them. It was kind of scary at first but once we started playing it was fine and I feel like I played better than I was expecting.” 

For this being the girls’ first official game of the season, they were able to show out on the field showcasing all of the hard work that has gone into this long-awaited start. The girls’ coach, Zoe Mamo, speaks about this previous game saying, “It was a good start to the season to see where the team was at and also to allow for people to play all different positions and gain some confidence all over the field.” 

The team is excited and hopeful for more wins this season as it is scheduled to play a second game Wednesday, April 12 against East Grand Rapids.