On May 11, Parkdale’s Girls and Boys Lacrosse made history as they won their very first finals game in the playoffs. The two teams won quarter-finals and moved on to the semi-finals. After an intense spring season, both lacrosse teams defeated Bladensburg High School in the region 4A quarter-finals and advanced to play Northwestern High School in the semi-finals on May 12. 

Both teams had a crazy, difficult start to the season with building their teams.

“It was very difficult to build the team this year, because many were still worried about Covid-19 and the shift in overall participation went down,” said Coach Sara Lail.

The boys also faced their set of challenges, as well.

“This year was definitely a lot different than coaching my previous years,” Coach Torrey Turner said. “This year’s team was made up of a mixture of sport backgrounds and grade levels. I had one freshman, and sophomore, starting all year. We had 22 first year players.”

The girls lacrosse team worked their way to the quarter-finals. Although their win-loss ratio was 2-10, it didn’t define them as a team. From practice Monday through Fridays after school and balancing their busy schedules, our lady panthers put in their best foot forward. 

“The best part was during the bus rides because everyone was happy. The hardest part was practice after a game loss because it was when we pushed even more,”said freshman Melanie Ayala.

The girls got to meet each other and create a team and a friendship with each other. Freshman Yeilin Amaya said the best part this year was “having the chance to meet new people and form a bond with them.”

The boys lacrosse team also had an intense season. With a 5-6 win-loss ratio the boys kept it pushing.

“We beat teams we never had before, and had close losses to teams that totally beat  us years before,” said Coach Turner. “We were also able to break our home losing streak during the playoffs. We won our FIRST ever playoff game.”

The team built a connection with one another and bonded as a team.

But of course there is no sport that is stress free.

“The hardest part of playing lacrosse is dealing with the pain that’s involved with the sport. You have to get used to going home sore and getting bruises every time you play,” said the team’s goalie freshman Brian.

Junior Edwin Amaya agreed and said the most stressful part of defense was getting beat and chasing back. He’ll miss “the people the most because it was fun.”

In the end, both teams made Parkdale history advancing to the semi-finals. It was the first time that our teams won a playoff and it was an even more important game for the boys as it was their first home game win. With the encouragement from Coach Lail and Coach Turner, the lacrosse teams are still ready for more growth. 

And with the success they saw at the end of this season by making it to the playoffs, Coach Turner has great hopes for next year.

“Next year I hope that more kids come out and get to learn about a sport that really brings people together,” he said. “I want all my underclassmen to come back and lead the team to more wins. This sport is still growing in the county, and PARKDALE has an opportunity to make some more noise next year. Student participation is key. The offseason is key. Staying active is key.”