After going 12-3 in the regular season and 5-0 in their district, the girls lacrosse team headed into the district playoffs as the No. 1 seed.  

“We were so excited to be the No.1 seed since we’ve been first in our district for years now,” senior Sofia Sincell said. “It definitely felt like all of the 6 a.m. practices paid off.” 

After their first-round bye in districts, the girls faced No. 4 St. Petersburg High School on Wednesday, April 14, defeating them 22-6. They then moved on to face No. 2 East Lake High School in the district championship. In defeating the Eagles 15-4, the girls won their district and prepared to move on to regionals.  

“We just needed to play our best and give our all, no matter who was ranked higher or lower,” senior Caroline Patterson said. “We supported each other on and off the sideline during each game and just had fun.” 

Heading into regional play as the No. 10 seed the girls were preparing to face rival Steinbrenner High School who came in as the No. 9 seed.  

“We implemented a couple of offensive movements and plays to combat Steinbrenner’s defense, because their defense was super strong,” Sincell said. “We adopted the strategy of quick ball movement through cuts from the top and the wing to throw them off. We expected them to be hungry for a win since their program hadn’t been super strong in a couple years, but we were confident that we could put up a good fight.” 

In the regional semifinals on Thursday, April 22, the girls played hard but fell 16-9 bringing their season to an end, but the bonds they have made as a team will last.  

“I will definitely miss the girls the most,” Sincell said. “I feel like I’ve built such a close relationship with them over the last couple of years, and it genuinely breaks my heart to know that I won’t get to see them daily ever again. I don’t have any sisters, so I really enjoyed playing the part of big sister to these girls on and off the field.”