Last year, the Benilde-St. Margaret’s Girls’ Lacrosse team made history when they won the program’s first-ever State Title by beating Edina 11-10. This year, that same team looks to go back-to-back while overcoming the loss of some crucial players.
Making it as far as the team did last year was something that not many of the players expected to happen. Everyone was very hopeful and excited going into sections, but as the team kept winning, the possibility of going all the way grew. Once the final game came around, friends and family packed the stands in hopes of watching this team make history. “It was amazing. It was just a great experience and it felt very rewarding to see all of our work leading up to the end of the season pay off,” senior Marah Cashman said.
Going into the season the team is hoping to start where they left off and hit the ground running. They have been eager to get back into the swing of things as they’ve been training together during the off-season. This has helped to keep the team camaraderie the same and strive for more. “I shoot every day on the field with [my teammate] Julie and have just been working out, conditioning, and participating in the team’s off-season tournaments,” Cashman said.
With 17 upperclassman returners, the team is excited about this season’s potential. Even though they have to work through missing a few top players, most things are expected to stay the same. BSM will go into most games being the favored team to win, but the question is will they be as dominant as they were before? “I think we’re looking pretty good. We lost some very impactful seniors and our goalie was one of the best in the state, so those are going to be big shoes to fill no matter what. I’m confident we’re gonna be able to work through that and hopefully do as well as we did last year,” senior Genevieve DeCesare said.
I think we’re looking pretty good. We lost some very impactful seniors and our goalie was one of the best in the state, so those are going to be big shoes to fill no matter what. I’m confident we’re gonna be able to work through that and hopefully do as well as we did last year.”
— Genevieve DeCesare
For most people, once you get that winning feeling, it’s hard not to want it again. The team has wants to win the championship this year even more than they did last year, proving to people that BSM is the best team in the state and that winning last year was no mistake. “Winning last year was surreal. I think our team has been working very hard in the off-season and we’re excited for the opportunity to do it all again,” senior Julia Evens said.