Courtesy Spencer Robinson

Junior attacker Ryan Gardner assesses the field before making an offensive push towards the net.

Boys’ lacrosse kicked off the 2024 season in impressive fashion beating Blair 11-5 on Thursday, March 21, and rivals Churchill, 11-9 on Wednesday, April 3.

This huge victory marks the first win for Boys’ lacrosse over Churchill in 13 years. In this matchup, junior attacker Ryan Gardner took over offensively. Gardner notched two goals and six assists, contributing to 73% of the Wildcats goals.

“It was an important win, I think the team did a very good job of containing Churchill,” Gardner said.

The offense has been outstanding versus two solid opponents to start the season, generating high confidence from the Wildcats players.

“I would say our offense is the best in the county, 100%,” Gardner said.

Senior and junior defensive players Dylan Minnick, John Jernell and Dalton Orsak have provided leadership and solid play so far, holding two well-rounded teams under double-digit scores.

“They (players listed above) help with coaching up little things like if I do something wrong on a play. Along with that they also keep me motivated and keep my spirits high. Alex Klein (senior goalie) especially has been of great help,” freshman Luke Nataro said.

Nataro, who is the only freshman on the team, has faced immense amounts of pressure but has lived up to his expectations with the help of his teammates.

“Also during our games everyone made sure that I kept my head up even when I made mistakes, making sure I didn’t get down on myself,” Nataro said.

The Cats need to continue this high-level overall play to be a threat in the county this season. With the help of Coach “Bubba” Anderson, WJ has been able to compete with their style of play.

“Coach Bubba always gets us going as a squad and gets that fire before games. He along with coach Tanner (assistant coach) always call us out on our mistakes and make sure we correct them,” Jernell said.

The Wildcats dropped their first game of the season against Whitman on Friday, April 5. The Cats’ defensive showing in this matchup was majorly disappointing. Whitman executed their plays to a tee, with WJ having no response for the quick-moving offense.

“I think we have a very good defense and one game doesn’t define who we are as a unit. We held Blair and Churchill down pretty heavily and we know what went wrong versus Whitman. We are going to have to adjust to these things to get back on track,” Jernell said.

The 19-9 defeat was not in the Cats’ plans, but they hope to rebound against B-CC on April 8.