With a new coach and a roster packed with talent, girls lacrosse is hoping to leave the 2019 season with a winning record. They’re one step closer to that goal with a win over rivals Lake Orion on March 21.

Head Coach Aliisa Mason said she’s already seen strong defensive depth from the ladies and is hoping to build on the team’s offense throughout the season.

“Our defense is definitely really solid,” she said.”They’ve always had a really great defense-minded team from the previous years. I would definitely say we are very strong in that aspect… (Right now) we’re working on running plays instead of just running the ball in. Sometimes we get a little anxious and we want to drive it in, and then we make silly decisions. So, we’re trying to slow our offense down.”

Led by captains senior Josephine Kane, junior Olivia Soule, senior Caitlin Hill and sophomore Kylie Rancilio, Mason is rooting for the girls to have a winning season, defeating more than half of their opponents.

“We want to take it to that next step where they’re beating teams that they were kind of neck and neck with last year,” Mason said.

One of those close teams was Lake Orion, but the Lady Cats walked away with a 12-11 win on March 21 in Dragon country during their first game of the season.

“We definitely came out really strong,” Mason said, “We got the first two goals and we were winning draw control after draw control. Every single girl on the team was out there wanting to win.”

For this group of athletes, this game marked the first time they’ve been able to overcome the Dragons, and Mason hopes it will be just the beginning of a strong season.

“Overall, it was the best I could have hoped for after only practicing together as a team for like a week,” she said.

Now with a 1-0 record, the Lady Cats will be on the field next on March 28 at home against Holly. They hosted Waterford Kettering on March 26 after the Leader went to press.