On Wednesday, April 19, the boy’s varsity lacrosse team won their first game of the season against Seneca Valley High School. The final score was 20-8.  A few days later, on April 21, the Rockets defeated their rivals, the Rockville Rams, 17-6. At the halfway point of the season, RM lacrosse is focused on one game at a time with hopes to improve their record. 

So far in the season, the Rockets have felt the impact of losing 14 seniors last year. With only three seniors on the team this year, the young Rocket’s team is hoping to build itself up through valuable playing experience.

“Being able to test my skills and physicality against players on the other teams that may be more athletic than I am providing an excellent opportunity to reinforce said abilities,” sophomore defender Jack Suittenger said. “Being an underclassman on varsity is very important because I know that I have older teammates who can help me.” 

The Rockets started off the first half of the season with tough competition, facing off against reigning state champions Winston Churchill. Their current record is 3-6. “We have had a tough start to the season with a hard schedule full of quality opponents. However, we are getting better each practice, each game and focusing on the positives,” boy’s varsity lacrosse coach Steven Puhl said. 

This season, the team is made up mostly of sophomores and juniors. Many of these players were on JV last year, and while their teammates are similar to last season’s, the level of play is intenser. “Young players stepping up has definitely been a highlight of the season. We only have three seniors starting out of ten players,” Coach Puhl said.

While it could be said that the young team lacks some experience, many underclassmen players are positive that the team will gain more confidence and strength for the remainder of the season, as well as for next year. “As a young team, many of our goals are long term, including obtaining some much-needed experience as my fellow underclassmen and I gain valuable playing time – and possibly more importantly, team chemistry amongst ourselves – against other varsity teams,” Suittenger said. 

With three games left in the regular season, the team is hopeful to finish out the season with more momentum. “We want to continue to build on where we are now and look to make a playoff run at the end of the season,” Coach Puhl said.