Girls lacrosse competes in California

Niwot High School lacrosse players traveled to San Marcos and Carlsbad California March 17 and 18 as members of the Mead High School lacrosse team, where they suffered losses against the more experienced San Marcos High School Knights (San Marcos, CA) and the La Costa Canyon High School Mavericks (Carlsbad, CA). The team fought hard, but fell short against the Knights and Mavericks losing by scores of 16-6 and 23-8 respectively.

The Mead girls lacrosse team is composed of students from all over the St. Vrain Valley School District, including Niwot High School students Lucy Connors, Payton Johson, and Lola Wynn.

Senior and midfielder Connors averages four points per game and two assists on the season, junior and defender Payton Johnson averages 0.3 points per game with no assists this season, and sophomore Lola Wynn, who doubles as midfield and attack, averages 0.3 points per game and 0.3 assists.

Connors scored four goals and added two assists against San Marcos, and had three goals with two assists against La Costa Canyon, both team highs.

Going into the week's games, Connors said she was excited "to face some new competition and spend time with teammates in the California sun."

Coming out of the games, she felt disheartened but still proud of how the team handled the two tough games. Reflecting on their performance, Connors said, "I think we all tried our best and worked hard and there were moments of greatness for sure. We definitely need to work on communication and playing as a team, but I have full faith that that will come with time."

Midfielders such as Connors transition the ball, play both offense and defense, and support their team across the field. Her efforts in these areas helped keep the team competitive and put up points despite competing against two highly-ranked teams. Connors was particularly impressed with the efforts of teammates and fellow midfielders Emmy Tecu and Morgan Elson. Elson, from Mead High School, had two goals and one assist against La Costa Canyon, while Tecu, from Lyons High School, scored three goals. Tecu also had two goals against San Marcos.

Connors may be disappointed by the defeats, but she sees it as a good lesson for the team. "Now that we have two big losses under our belt, we can take advantage of the opportunity to get better from it. We haven't really had any games like that so far as a program, but the reality is our team changes every year. In order to get better, losses have to happen," she said.

For Connors, the most exciting part of these past two games, despite the losses, was "seeing the potential the team has because we're able to bounce back mentally after and during tough games."

The team is looking forward to the next game on Thursday, March 27, against the Poudre School District in Fort Collins.