The scoreboard buzzes as the team jumps up and down, glorious in their victory. Allison Schmidt, senior, takes a moment to celebrate with her teammates before running to the benches. The girls lacrosse team has just won their first game of the season.
Schimdt has been playing lacrosse since her freshman year. She said the sport started as a way to have fun with her friends, but it has led her to meet a special group of girls.
“It’s fun to play a sport that you love and it’s good to feel confident,” Schmidt said. “And I feel confident when I’m playing lacrosse. Whenever I go out, I get a big boost of energy and my day gets instantly better.”
Last season, the team had a new tradition that Schmidt said helped them to grow closer, especially to bond the different grade levels. Lily Dodd-Ruesing, sophomore, said that in the end, the team felt very connected after all the team bonding.
“We started doing stick sisters, where upperclassmen would be paired up with the underclassmen, we became stick sisters.” Schmidt said. “We would teach them things.”
Schmidt said she is very excited to see what the team brings this season. After going through coaching changes and shifts on the team, Schimdt said she is ready for her final season.
“I’m excited to see everyone again, our team has gotten really close and it’s fun to see everyone on the lacrosse field everyday,” Schimdt said. “There have been some ups and downs, but [last year] we got more into the routine of playing together.”
Dodd-Ruesing has been playing lacrosse since seventh grade after she was introduced by friends. Last spring was her first high school season and she said she was happy to be a part of such a close knit team.
“Everyone is so nice and welcoming, it’s like a little family,” Dodd-Ruesing said. “We spend so much time together, you get to know people and [then] it’s hard not to become close.”
Dodd-Ruesing said the team became great friends in a short span and that helped them to perform on the field. With their challenging schedule, she said it was important the team kept a good attitude.
“The [team culture] is very positive,” Dodd-Ruessing said. “Even when we have bad games or practices, we never let that get us down.”
Julia Knopfel, senior, has been playing KHS lacrosse for the last three years and said she has seen the fun the game can bring. Last year was her first year on Varsity, but she said her best moment was winning the final game in her sophomore season.
“My favorite memory would probably be the JV ladue game my sophomore year because we had lost every single game that year and we got to win our last game.” Knopfel said. “ Even though we lost every game, it was more fun than serious and we ended up winning.”
Even though Schmidt was on Varsity her sophomore year, she said one of her favorite KHS lacrosse memories was also at the root of the ladue game. After a tough loss her sophomore year, the team was able to beat ladue for their first win of her junior year.
“Last year we played Ladue and it was our fourth game of the season. The year before we had lost to them in overtime, so it was really tough.” Schimdt said. “But we came back and we beat them and it was a really fun memory because we were all really excited and it was our first win of the season so it was nice to [win] together. And it was really fun to celebrate with the team.”
Schmidt said she viewed the upcoming season as a place to improve both individually and as a team through positivity. She said the previous team’s ability to learn together was what led them to success.
“I hope as a team we continue to get stronger and grow as a program,” Schmidt said. “There are times when it feels like everyone can focus on them individually, but I hope we all can mesh together again and get back into the routine of working together quickly.”
Dodd-Ruessing said that she is most excited to show off her improvements as a player in the upcoming season. Along with KHS lacrosse she also plays club for 410West Lacrosse and said while they are very different, they both have their benefits.
The club competition is a bit harder but high school lacrosse is really good because you practice every day and you get into a rhythm with it and improve.” Dodd-Ruessing said. “My goal is to become a better player and further my skills. I’ve been working reallyhard in the offseason and I’m hoping to see it pay off on the field this year.”
