OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The more things change the more things stay the same for the McDonogh girls high school lacrosse team. The Eagles have a new coach and the same championship-caliber collection of talent.
They are not only one of the best teams in the area, they are one of the best teams in the country. McDonogh (2-0) is ranked No. 1 in the nation by Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse. So far they have secured wins over Georgetown Visitation and Glenelg Country.
Leading McDonogh this year is head coach Megan Nicotra. She takes over for Taylor Cummings, who was head coach for the past five years. Nicotra was an assistant under Cummings for the past two seasons.
She has a star-studded lineup. On the roster are eight seniors and five juniors committed to play Division I college lacrosse. Seniors like midfielder Amanda Lawson, who is headed to Stanford, and midfielder Kate Levy who is going to North Carolina to play for her mom, Tar Heels head coach and National Lacrosse Hall of Famer, Jenny Levy.
On defense Kit Laake leads the way as a sophomore. Laake and her teammates know with the national recognition brings expectations and they are okay with that.
"It’s good to have a bullseye on your back and always have people looking at you and expecting you to do well. But it also pushes you to do better," said Laake.
"This program has always had a lot of talent and there is a history of winning. You always want to repeat. You want to win championships. That’s the goal for every team," added Levy. "We can do a lot of great things but it’s going to take some work."
McDonogh is looking to defend its 2023 Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland ‘A’ Conference championship.
"We have an incredible amount of talent and just a very balanced team," said Nicotra. "We don’t have one or two players. We have a field full of players that can produce for us. So, it’s really exciting and I think they have bought into that team culture."
Friday night continues a busy stretch for the Eagles. They play their second of three games in five days when they visit Notre Dame Prep at 4:00 p.m.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
