The girls lacrosse team headed to San Francisco over the Apr. 18 weekend to play three games against elite national competition.
The Trevians won two of the three games, contributing to their 5-0 record before heading into the California trip.
In California, this year’s team got its first taste of state championship-caliber lacrosse after some lopsided early season results.
“We played very talented teams who we have never played before. I think this will be a very good test for our team,” said junior Tace Sutherland. “I think it will exemplify what we need to work on to beat teams like Loyola and [Glenbrook South].”
Opponents included St. Ignatius College Preparatory, Menlo School, and Carondelet High School, all of whom are some of the top teams in the state of California.
“Everyone on our team [was] super excited. It [was] a great experience and a fantastic test for us,” said junior Clare Rooney.
The Trevians took down Carondelet and Menlo but lost to St. Ignatius.
“I thought we played well,” said junior Caleigh DeWitt. “We have some things to work on but our weekend was a big success.”
In addition to playing 3 games, the team was able to explore San Francisco and Palo Alto.
In Palo Alto, the team visited Stanford, where they met with former Trevian lacrosse player Kelsey Murray (who now plays for nationally ranked top 15 Stanford). The Trevs also got to practice on the Cardinal’s lacrosse field and watch its game against San Diego State, a resounding 22-10 victory.
This trip to California gave the Trevians a glimspe into the next level of lacrosse, although they are focused on winning this season.
“Our team motto this year has been ‘reach,’” said Rooney. “So we work hard every day at practice to reach within ourselves to get better and push ourselves.”
To help the team continue to reach for its goals, the Trevians have establishing their team chemistry.
“In the beginning of the season we do a lot of team bonding and spend so much time getting to know each other,” said Sutherland.
One of the team bonding activities to improve their team bonding was an overnight retreat. According to Rooney, they spent the entire night at the Northfield campus doing different trust exercises.
The Trevs have thirteen new varsity team members this year due to graduated seniors, but also fifteen returning varsity players.
“Neither team was better or worse, just different,” said Sutherland. “I think this team has a lot of potential to get better and better as the season progresses.”
Now that the girls lacrosse team is back home, it needs to work and learn from its trip to beat top Illinois teams such as Loyola, who defeated the Trevians in the state championship last season, Glenbrook South, and Hinsdale Central.
Senior Captain Grace Hemmer said, “It was a really great trip and now we all have a lot of varsity experience, so now we can really play well together and mesh well.”