Lacrosse teams slowly improve

Frank Resetarits, who plays professional lacrosse, splits his time between New York, where he plays in the Men’s Lacrosse League (MLL) on the Long Island Lizards, and California, where he plays in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) on the San Jose Stealth.

At only 24, Resetarits brings enormous credentials to the table as both a coach and player. In college, Resetarits was co-captain of the University of Albany’s Division I Great Danes, and helped the team qualify for the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament his senior year.

The same year, Resetarits scored 57 goals and had 33 assists, for a total of 80 points, which is currently the third highest single-season total in Division I history. He is also one of Division I’s top 10 scorers of all time. Resetarits also earned the honor of first team All-American, and was a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is awarded to the “Most Outstanding” collegiate lacrosse player in the United States.

Resetarits, one of the best collegiate lacrosse players of all time, is also the assistant coach of the Saratoga High lacrosse team.

“I think it’s really cool that we get to have a professional player as our coach,” said freshman Eric Van Norden. “How many other teams get pro-players to coach them?”

Last spring, Resetarits was the head coach for the Redhawks JV team who were ranked fourth in the northern California club league. In the fall, Resetarits also coached at Hamburg High school in his hometown of Hamburg, NY.

Now at Saratoga High, Resetarits is implementing everything from commonplace exercises to more complex drills that target specific areas, such as knowing when to drive to the goal, in which the team needs improvement.

The work has paid off as the boys slowly begin to improve their overall game play, even though the scores may not reflect this.

The boys lost to Mountain View High School on March 23 11-1, a large improvement from the previous game against MV. The game against Archbishop Mitty proved more challenging for the boys, who lost 15-2. Both games were away.

On March 30, the team lost to Burlingame High School 15-3 at home but played much more fluid offense. The team also lost to Junipero Serra High School on April 3, 15-2.

After a shaky start to the season, the girls’ team has emerged from the unsteady platform of a first year team to become a force to be reckoned with., And ever since their crushing defeat of The Harker School on March 24, the girls have been unstoppable. With a score of 18-5 on home turf, it was an uplifting win that promised even more future success.

Ironically, the girls’ lacrosse team originally planned to play as Harker’s JV team, albeit still under Saratoga colors. Yet the March 24 game proved otherwise.

A week later, the girls stunned the crowds, coaches and even themselves as they played a tight game against Mercy Burlingame on March 31. Strong offense in the first 10 minutes allowed the girls to get in some quick points. They faltered the last 15 minutes of the first half, which ultimately led to their loss; however, strong defense in the second half, alongside a relentless offensive attempt to score kept the girls in the game.

Though the girls lost, 12-10, it was the turning point of the season as they came to realize their potential. Mercy had been a team they’d played against during the preseason Jamboree, one who scored goal after goal within the short 25 minute interval.

“We were all really excited with the improvement,” said junior Vanessa Block. “Even though we didn’t win.”

By this point, the lady falcons were on fire. The day after, they won their first game against a legitimate team—that is, one that posed actual competition—with a score of 15-13 on Nortre Dame’s home turf on April 1. Multiple goals were made by freshman Chloe Knight and sophomores Annaliese Parker and Vanessa Block.