The girls’ lacrosse team has had an increasingly winning season this year, recently defeating several local rivals and striving to reach the postseason.

“This was definitely a rebuilding year for the team,” sophomore Gwen Pattison said. “Last year, we graduated eight seniors, three of which went on to play college ball. [This year] we have more sophomores than any other class.”

“Our team has had a bumpy start but everyone’s spirit is still high which is really important,” senior captain Rebecca Mendelsohn said. “Especially in our [earlier] games, despite the outcome, ([losing] 26-25 against CHS and 18-14 against Salem) we all were proud of how we played.”

“Everyone supported each other and kept positive the whole way through,” Mendelsohn added.

Following these losses early in the season, the team went on to defeat Monticello 13-11 on April 18 and Fluvanna 15-5 on April 25.

According to Pattison, “until [Monticello], we had lost every game by at least 8 points, so we were ready to end that losing streak. Our transitions were beautiful, we passed the ball, and we played Patriot lacrosse.”

More recently, the team triumphed over Western 12-11 in triple overtime on May 2 and beat the previously undefeated Patrick Henry Roanoke team 7-5 on May 7.

The winning streak continued with a 21-11 victory over CHS on May 9.

“Beating Western gave me such an indescribable feeling,” Pattison said. “Last year, we lost to them three times by one or two points each time. We lost by eight the first time we played them this season, and that completely changed our team mentality.

She added that “we came out ready to win and we did. We worked as a unit and applied everything we know and it served us well.”

At the beginning of the year, the team came up with 30 goals for the season. These goals cover a broad array of topics, ranging from “little things like stay hydrated, to more specific goals like win states,” Pattison said.

“My favorite goal, which I think we have achieved and maintained, is play like a family,” she said. “We pick each other up when we’re down, we motivate each other, we give each other constructive criticism, and we don’t harp on the little mistakes.”

According to Mendelsohn, some of these goals “we have already accomplished, like [to] stay classy and respectful. Some goals we need to keep working on, like ‘win 80% of the draws [start of the game] every game.’ So we are on our way to achieving our team goals that we have not already accomplished with hard work and practice!”

Senior captain Carolyn Chapman said that because the team is young this year “there was a lot of confusion with positions [at first]… but as the season has gone on we are all learning our roles and really coming together as a team.”

Pattison agreed that “we’re definitely getting there. We just need to keep a winning mentality.”

She thinks that “we have improved on every aspect of the game, especially the fundamentals,” Pattison said. “Our stick work is improving everyday, we’re communicating more, and our team dynamic is getting better with every practice.”

This positive team dynamic is essential to success on the field. “We all have a lot of fun together but also know when to be serious and know how to push each other to work harder,” Mendelsohn said.

Lacrosse requires not only physical effort, but intense mental concentration. “The hardest part about playing lacrosse, or any sport for that matter, is keeping your head in the game,” Pattison said. “You can’t get cocky when you’re winning and you can’t sulk when you’re losing. You just have to play like it’s 0-0.”

According to Chapman, it’s hard to have to“move on from your mistakes right after they happen. The game is so fast that you can’t dwell on your mistakes and you just need to stay positive.”

The team maintains this positivity through spirit. “Our team has great spirit,” Chapman said. “Off the field we do spirit during school and the whole team participates and on the field we are all getting hype so we have energy to get a win for the Patriots.”

Mendelsohn added that  “we all love the sport and have good skills, which is so great to be around, especially for my last year at Albemarle.”

She thinks that “we all see our great potential and skill, so we know the end of the season will go well if we try our hardest.”