On Thursday, May 11, the boys varsity lacrosse team went head-to-head with the Hawks of FHE. Games against fellow Forest Hills schools are always high-tension, for one team always wants to be the best in the district. Luckily for our Rangers, they showed the Hawks who was boss. The gentlemen took the win; the final score came to be 17-3.

The guys prepared themselves before the game to get the blood flowing and bring out the energy.

“We made sure to have a good warm-up and create a lot of energy in order to get ready. Everyone made sure to get hyped and stay hyped,” said junior defensive midfielder Owen Barber.

Entering the competition, the boys knew they would need to keep up the adrenaline; they wanted to make sure to play the entire game, not just a few quarters. The guys came to play.

“Some guys who don’t usually get goals like Reese Lee kept our energy going,” said defenseman Vaughn Cheslek. “This is one of our first games where we had our foot on the gas the whole time so that also boosted the mood.”

Throughout the entire game, the boys played like there was no tomorrow. In response to this new spark, the statistics on the scoreboard soared. With the highest number of goals, senior captain and attackman Jonah McConnell secured four. Multiple boys had two goals each: senior midfielder Jake Koning, senior captain and attackman Graham Bennett, senior attackman Magnus Salmon, junior captain and midfielder Nolan Hartl, and senior midfielder Reese Le. Senior midfielder Collin Webb had one goal and one assist; junior face-off specialist Luke Wedder had 1 goal as well. Mickey Mehney, a junior midfielder, had added one goal to the bunch. Sophomore midfielder Orion Roskam has one assist.

Various plays and possessions were positive, revealing a whole new world to the boys. They could see their true potential; there were not many bad things—if at all—to bring up. 

“We did a lot of things well; our ground ball game was complimented by the coaches post-game, which has been a problem in some previous games,” Vaughn said. “The cause of some of those ground balls was our failure to catch and pass as consistently as we’d liked to. Our communication as a defensive unit was also executed well, but there’s always room for a louder sideline.”

The next game for the team will be this Saturday, May 13, at 1:00 p.m. The Hartland Eagles will travel to our Ranger Stadium and go neck-and-neck with our team. Hartland will hold absolutely nothing back; the boys must come ready to play a competitive game.

“Hartland is a big game for us,” said coach Andy Shira. “They’ve been one of the best teams in the state for the past several years, and we know we’re going to get their best game. They’re well-coached and talented at both ends of the field, so we need to have a good start to the game and score some early goals. Ground balls will be key. They have a very skilled face-off man, so we need to limit any extra possession he can get them.”