After a 2015 season with an overall record of 4-16, the McNicholas Men’s Lacrosse Team enters its second season of existence with lots of room for improvement. However, improvement often only comes through adversity, and the lacrosse team will face plenty of that during their 2016 season. The men’s lacrosse team will face, and has already faced, some of the area’s top teams such as Sycamore, Indian Hill, Seven Hills, and Loveland — all storied programs that will present a challenge for the Rockets.
In a recent 8-5 loss to the Seven Hills Stingers, the Men’s Lacrosse Team proved that they have the ability to compete with a team that Inside Lacrosse called “one of the top 25 programs in the Midwest.” After the loss to the Stingers, senior Captain and midfielder Josh Poole said, “It’s encouraging how close we came to beating a prestigious and talented program, but it’s still disappointing that we couldn’t pull out a win.”
The attitude of being close to winning being good enough is an attitude that the Men’s Lacrosse Team is shedding for their second season. “Last season, we were happy to simply be competitive in games, but this year we are only satisfied with winning,” said senior defenseman Jeron Heil.
Already having faced the likes of Sycamore and Seven Hills, the team has high hopes for the remainder of the year. “We have started the season losing our first 4 games of the season, 3 of them by 3 goals or less against solid opponents, but now the team is beginning to come together and the rest of our games from here out are games that we are confident that we can win,” sophomore attackman Ben Rodell said.
One of the toughest tests for the Rockets in their second year is the loss of Second Team All-South Ohio Goalkeeper Sean Webb, who is replaced by freshman Connor Tomlinson. “Connor is stepping in against some of the best competition in the state as only a freshman and is making big saves in big moments, and he is improving with every game,” senior midfielder Shane Estes commented on Tomlinson.
Outside of Webb, the Men’s Lacrosse Team returns most of their key players and will face the remainder of their season with a battle tested and experienced team with Rodell, one of the Rocket’s leaders on offense from the 2015 season returns, along with Seniors Evan Stegman and Josh Poole to shore up the midfield on both offense and defense. Additionally, the Rocket’s return sophomore long stick midfielder Cage Beuerlein and All-State Defenseman senior Duncan Weir to create their defense. On April 15, the Rockets will come home for their first home game of the season at 6 p.m. against Madeira
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The McNicholas Milestone 