GLENELG, Md. — It may officially be spring break for our students in Howard County, but the Glenelg High School girls lacrosse team is far from thinking about any vacation.
The Gladiators are on a mission this season. They enter the break with a 3-0 record after beating two of the top teams in the state, Severna Park and defending 4A state champion Broadneck. They also grabbed a ‘W’ in the county opener against Reservoir.
Glenelg is on its way to defending its Howard County regular season title and they want more. For the past two years they have entered the playoffs undefeated but were upset by Century in the regional final each year, losing by a single goal both times.
To make it through another season undefeated and go further it’s going to take a lot. The Gladiators graduated 14 seniors from the 2022 team. But so far, so good in 2023. They are picking up right where they left off.
"People will call us a rebuilding team and I honestly don’t agree with it. I don’t think we’re rebuilding at all," said senior captain Isa Torres. "I think we’re just making our presence - especially because we’ve lost the last two years - we’re just making our presence known." Torres, a midfielder, will attend Virginia Tech in the fall.
"I feel like this year is a game of who wants it more," added senior captain Lauren LaPointe. "We’re seeing some of our younger girls step up and being leaders, which really gives me a good outlook on the ending of our season." LaPointe, who plays attack, is headed to University of Maryland.
"What’s kind of surprising with this group is how poised they are in the field. We’ve had two very close games that really could have gone either way, and regardless of the score or the circumstances, everybody remained very calm and patient and poised in what could be a very tumultuous situation for somebody that is just feeling out other players and finding their new roles," said head coach Alex Pagnotta.
The Gladiators now get ready for another big matchup. They host Notre Dame Prep on Tuesday.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
