Highland’s Lacrosse — Tough Loss in a Nearly Undefeated Season

The Highland Rams Lacrosse team were just celebrating their undefeated season when they had a tough loss against Olympus High School on Wednesday, April 4th. Although they lost, The Rams are growing in different ways. Some specific players are strengthening the team like Lincoln Robinson, for example, who is only a freshman and plays as varsity goalie. The ending score was 14-4.

Olympus shot well, challenging the freshman goalie. Team members such as Spencer Gardener, Sam Whisenant and Rex Graham feel that Highland needed to step up their defensive playing in the game.

“One thing we could have worked on better was our movement of the ball,” Spencer Gardner, senior at Highland said. Gardner was injured in Highlands game against Bingham, forcing him to watch his team members play from the sidelines. This gave him the opportunity to closer observe the teams strengths and weaknesses last night.

Gardner also mentioned that the team needs to work on ground balls, clearing and getting the balls down the field. Last night Highland was challenged by Olympus’s skilled players when the Rams attempted to make long passes.

Rex Graham plays long stick midi for the Rams and observed that the team did not have enough possession on offense, and because of that, no opportunities to score.

“I think we need to improve on playing under pressure,” Sam Whisenant, senior and attacker for the Rams said. “When the other team plays so aggressively our offensive players need to possess the ball well. [Olympus] possessed the ball for about three-fourths of the game and we never really took our opportunities.”

Whisenant also stressed the importance of shot selection. Olympus’s goalie did not let too much get passed him, and Whisenant explained that Highland took some lazy shots that resulted in turnovers.

The Rams were surprised by the speed that the Titans possessed which challenged them even further.

The loss was especially sad for Highland because for the first time in three years,  Highland had an undefeated season of what could have been 6-0, now 6-1.

The Rams never gave up hope last night. As their opponents continued to challenge them, their paces did not slow down and their spirits did not sink. The team can use this game as an opportunity to find what they can improve on, both as a group and individually. Their season looks promising, and if they keep the same determination and drive, we are sure to see the Rams continue on successfully.

Highland lacrosse will play the schools biggest rival, East High School this Friday. Hopefully The Rams can look forward to a promising game against the panthers and win another victory.