The lacrosse team this year has been facing one major challenge: It has a roster of just 17 players.

Due to the loss of several skilled players from the Class of 2016 to graduation, the Falcons (2-4 as of March 27) have been trying to fill positions with younger players such as sophomore goalkeeper Jennah El-Ashmawi and midfielders Natalia Denenberg and Ines Picard.

But because of the small roster, it means there are just five alternates.

Since the numbers are down this season, all junior JV players from last year were pulled up to varsity, along with three sophomores and two freshmen, Kathryn Hamilton and Julia Yoo.

“This year is pretty much a developing year since there are so many underclassmen,” said the team’s co-captain, senior Julia Vita. “We just want to improve and hope that we can get everyone up to skill level.”

The other co-captain, senior Emma Kovac, also believes that another goal the team should aim for is “to become a close family,” since they can't succeed if they don't know how to work together as a whole.

“In our second game, we got used to each other,” Kovac said. “I think we still have to improve on passing and catching the ball for the rest of the season.”

On March 24, the girls played an intense home game against Los Gatos but fell by the score of 17-4.

The girls lost 13-1 against Mountain View on March 21, with the only goal scored by Vita. After winning 13-6 against Pioneer on March 14 and and 8-3 against Leland on March 3, the girls were disheartened by the lopsided losses to Mountain View and  rival Los Gatos.

In their first league game on February 28, the girls lost 9-6 to to Los Altos High. Kovac said the team had difficulty playing on Los Altos’s grass field, since it’s more difficult to scoop up ground balls on grass than on turf.

The Falcons will face a key matchup Gunn High twice the week after Spring Break, playing the Titans on April 10 and 14, and they play Palo Alto on April 21 at home.