The Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse season came to an end with a 13-1 loss in the playoffs to Briarcliff High School, the number one team in the section. Despite the loss, this was a very successful season for the Trojans.
The team’s under .500 record of 6-10 does not tell the complete story. The six wins mean that the team succeeded in winning the most lacrosse games in Blind Brook’s history and made it to sectionals for the second time.
This year, a strong combination of both talent and upperclassman leadership from captains Jason Schoen, Grant Alter, Jordan Kotler, and Alec Milbauer created a winning team and have set the stage for the team’s future success.
“Last year was a struggle because of the amount of young players, specifically freshmen, we had on the team. This year, as all of those players had a year of varsity experience, we figured they would be better able to handle a full varsity season. That group of guys, combined with the rest of the team did exactly that and much more,” said coach Andrew Maier.
Coach Maier and Coach Head knew that they had to push their young players harder this year, and believed that the boys were ready to handle it. Fortunately, their tougher approach proved to be successful. Both coaches agreed that all of their players responded to this extra push and capitalized on in-game opportunities.
The team was led this season by a combination of seniors and up and coming juniors and underclassmen. Senior Grant Alter led the team in scoring, finishing with 24 goals. He was followed in number by senior Jordan Kotler.
Since both Alter and Kotler are graduating, their roles will likely be filled next year by Max Chalfin and Alec Milbauer, both of whom were key offensive contributors this season.
Defensively, the team was led by senior Jason Schoen and sophomore long-stick midfielder Kieran Storch. On this side of the team, the only seniors leaving are Jason Schoen and Alec Minick.
Because the team only had four seniors this season, the expectations for continued improvement next season are high. Coach Maier is optimistic that new players next year will well adapt to the high standards expected of them.
“The players’ willingness to put in the hard work and dedicate themselves to the team was the reason for the [most wins] in program history. We hope to build on that next year with the incoming freshmen,” he said.