Boys’ lacrosse team steadily improves to finish season strong

April 27, 2016 — by Amith Galivanche and Katherine Zhou

The boys’ lacrosse team has rebounded from last year’s losing season with both more victories and improved play.

The boys’ lacrosse team has rebounded from last year’s losing season with both more victories and improved play.

The team, which is in the De Anza League (DAL) within the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL), is 3-2 within the league, and 5-5 overall as of April 22.

Currently, the Falcons are tied in third  with Mountain View, but their ranking may change since there are still a couple of more games until the SCVAL semi-finals.

A big recent victory occurred on April 21 when they beat Leland 12-1. Players said they  focused on avoiding “sloppy mistakes” against the last-place team.

“At the end, once we were 12-1, the coach [CJ Toy] let defense play offensive positions, and the offense play defensive positions,” senior defense player Jerame Kim said. “In all, it was a fun game.”

After winning two games back-to-back — against Washington 18-13 on April 14, and against Gunn 12-6 on March 31 — the team suffered a 14-7  loss to Archbishop Mitty on April 19, a strong team that is ranked 76th in the state.

Even after recent losses, the Falcons have shown great improvement. The players have been constantly practicing their technique and teamwork, which has produced refined results so far under the guidance of Toy.

The players also note some distinct changes that make this years’ team work together better than last year’s.

“There is a very noticeable improvement from last year,” junior defensive player Clifford Wong said. “Because most of the members are returning players, we don't have to spend as much time focusing on basic skills. [Toy] trains us to focus and play more fluidly as a team.”

The win against Gunn showcased the Falcons’ resilience after their tough 14-12 loss against Mountain View on March 29.

During the Falcons’ game against Gunn, the teams were tied  until the beginning of the last quarter, when Toy pulled the team together for a pep talk and encouraged the players to push themselves in the final quarter. They went on to outscore Gunn.

“We pulled away in the fourth quarter [through] good teamwork and determination to get the win,” junior midfielder Max Schulz said.

A similar situation occurred during the game against Washington. The Falcons were confident going in, but when their lead started to slip away due to lack of effort, Toy rallied the players together to finish strong.

We played pretty poorly throughout because we thought we could easily beat them,” sophomore attack Miles Owyang said. “At halftime, we were only ahead by two or three, so the coach told us to stop thinking it was going to be an easy game because it’s not like they were just going to sit down and let us win.”

To achieve the recent wins, players have been trying new techniques Toy has taught. Wong said that Toy “finds weaknesses and turns them into strengths,” helping him and the other players to predict other teams’ movements during the game.

Due to printing deadlines, the Falcon was unable to cover games against Palo Alto on April 26 and Newark Memorial on April 28. Their final two regular season games are against Los Altos at home on Tuesday and at Gunn on Thursday.

 
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