Boys’ lacrosse team rebounds from difficult season

The Falcons have been better this year and shown better sportsmanship.

Last year, the boys’ lacrosse team was one of the most feared teams to go against. This was not because of their skill or prowse, as they suffered more defeats than wins, but rather due to their actions on and off the field that could be deemed unsportsmanlike.

“Last year we were very disorderly and the worst team to play because of our rudeness,” senior forward Quincy Owyang said.

This season, however, the boys are aiming to be better competitors not only in the way they play, but the way they act. Under the guidance of new head coach C.J. Toy, the boys are improving to become fierce — but also sportsmanlike — competitors on the field.

“We are playing better this season as a team,” Owyang said. “We aren’t back to the level of play that we had three to four years ago, but you can see a noticeable difference between this season and last season.”

Under Toy, the Falcons are becoming to gel more as a team. The boys on the team are responding to his more structured approach to coaching.

“Coach Toy has been great at spotting our weaknesses and making sure we go over them and learn from them,” Owyang said.

According to Owyang, the team spends a lot of time trying to get along with each other and making sure its members have good teamwork.

“[Toy] has done a really good job in practices,” Owyang said. “Although we do less conditioning in practice, the coach makes sure we work well on the field and are physical enough to win games.”

The Falcons have opened up its season with a record of 2-3. Although they are still far from being a top team, the boys have kept many of their losses close and feel proud to have improved this much from last season.

The Falcons beat Newark Memorial High School on March 10 with a score of 14-9. They also had two close losses, losing 16-10 to Aptos on March 15, and 11-9 to Sequoia on March 1. Junior Aidan Peck leads in scoring during games while juniors Orion Milazzo and Tavon Naddaf switch out as goalies.

On March 17, the Falcons beat the Leland Chargers 13-4. With a good showing at the game, the team advanced to the fourth-ranked team in their league.

“We played much better this game then before,” Owyang said. “We still have a lot to improve on in the future as we didn’t play to our full potential.”

The next game brought them back to earth. They traveled to Los Gatos on March 22 and were trounced 18-3. Looking forward, the Falcons realize the improvements they need to undertake to improve to the next level. “We are finding each other's faults and are trying to work around it so that we can play to the best of our abilities the remainder of the season,” Owyang said.