Before their playoff game on May 11, the boys’ lacrosse team had hope that they could beat — or at least compete with — Palo Alto, ranked No. 1 in the De Anza League (DAL)

Their hope came from the tie they held through three quarters in a game on April 26, before losing 12-5.

The hope they felt going into the playoff game, however, didn’t translate into results on the field. with, the Falcons losing 16-3.

“We panicked because it was our first playoff game for this team, so they took control,” sophomore attack Miles Owyang said.

The loss in the SCVAL semi-finals ended the team’s season. They finished with a 4-5 record in the DAL and a 7-8 record overall.

On May 5, the team was neck to neck with Gunn at halftime, in their last regular season game. They feared that Gunn, which is ranked lower than Saratoga in the DAL, would upset them.

The Falcons pushed themselves harder in the second half and went on to win 11-6.

Two days earlier, the team suffered at 12-11 loss against Los Altos. This was crushing for the players, since the Eagles were ranked sixth place in the league, whereas Saratoga was ranked fourth.

“Losing against Los Altos stung because we knew we were a better team, but we just weren't able to focus,” junior defense Clifford Wong said.

Despite the season-ending loss to Palo Alto, the Falcons will look back on this season as a huge improvement from the struggles of last year — one when they had many victories and gained respect.

“We have the capability to be a really good team, and we are going to do well next year, because these are the starting steps to win and become champions,” junior midfielder Kylash Krishamurthy said.