Boys’ Lacrosse defeated in first Sections game

Park falls to Totino-Grace 0-14

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Ella Hammerstrand

Junior Flynn Spano cradles the ball with his stick while running the ball toward the opponent’s goal. The score of Park’s final game of the season against Totino-Grace was 0-14.

Despite ending its season on another shutout, Park knows that it made leaps and bounds towards rebuilding its team, according to junior Alexander Hager.

“We are 0-14 but I have seen some improvement throughout the season,” Hager said. “I’ve seen the team grow.”

Despite working with a young and inexperienced team, Park still lost morale toward the end of the game May 28, according to Hager.

“We were doing really well in the first half but we just started falling off,” Hager said. “People were hanging their heads.”

Although the team did not perform at the level of other teams this season, every game provided valuable learning time for the newer and younger players, according to assistant coach Carlos Siguenza.  

“Certain kids who have less experience are now able to come out, get the ball and be confident with it,” Siguenza said.

After losing 18 seniors last year, the team was prepared for a less successful season, according to junior Parker Brynildson.

“We all knew it was going to be a rebuilding season,” Brynildson said. “All about getting better and learning how to play as a team.”

According to Siguenza, the coaches were far from disappointed with the team.

“As a whole this season, we saw improvements from every single player,” Siguenza said. “Whether or not the score reflected that, us coaches were able to see it.”

Even though Park was not able to secure any victories this season, the team persevered until the final game, kept its head up and fought till the end of every match, according to Brynildson.

“The season as a whole was positive,” Brynildson said. “We all got better as a team and I am excited for next season.”

According to Siguenza, the coaches saw success in other important aspects of the season, rather than the number of games won and goals scored.

“It’s not about the scoreboard,” Siguenza said. “It’s about giving 100 percent effort and fighting all the way through the end of the game.”

According to Hager, the team will need to keep working before next season rolls around, especially to ensure that its hard work isn’t lost.

“I am hoping that most of the guys are going to hit the weight room,” Hager said. “Hopefully they will play some offseason lacrosse so that our stick skills will be up to date.”

This year, the team will be celebrating the graduation of just two seniors — goalkeeper Noah Houser and defenseman David Bryant — staggering the team much less than the loss of the previous season.