From overlooked to ranked, girls lacrosse is heading to Regionals

Captain and senior Maddie Singer aims a pass towards her teammates, the energy that she brings to the sport keeping them driven. (Courtesy of Anthony Spinelli)

The final whistle pierced the evening air and for a moment, the field stood still. Then the Ballard sideline exploded — lacrosse sticks raised to the sky, screams of victory echoed and a surge of black and red jerseys rushed together. After a season of determination and challenges, the girls lacrosse team was heading to Regionals for the first time since 2019.

“Honestly I couldn’t have asked for a better team,” Captain and senior Maddie Singer said. “I feel like we’re just as close on the field as we are off the field and we just have a bond that is something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

On the other hand, sophomore Sienna Spinelli thinks the talent of the team has more to do with bringing the team to Regionals.

“We have a winning record this year so we are 9-3, which means we broke the record,” Spinelli said. “First year since 2019 that we are going to playoffs so we were ranked 18th in the state which is really impressive. From a team perspective we have been playing very well together and have been learning a lot.”

Freshman Nina Jones thinks the team’s attitude has affected the lacrosse season.

“Our team chemistry is very good [this year],” Jones said. “We all play super well together and the energy is super good on and off the field.

Singer expresses how captains’ and upperclassmen’s actions affect the whole team and the season.

“Leading by example and the energy you bring into the team sets the tone for the whole season,” Singer said. “You have to bring that energy to practices and games and then people would follow your lead and it would add to the overall atmosphere. Also, another important part of being a captain is being that person teammates could go to instead of going to the coaches.”

Spinelli thinks that the captains are the go to person if anyone needs advice or simply needs to get hyped up.

“All of the captains are really talented and have such a good ‘game IQ’,” Spinelli said. “They always know where to go, what’s happening and what to do in every situation. And so they are always teaching you how to do things and they are always hyping people up and also giving the team tips.”

Jones emphasizes how much effort the captains put into making sure their team has no room for doubt for a play in addition to supporting their teammates.

“They show up to every single practice and make an effort to talk to everybody,” Jones said. “They always run through the line and play until the end of the drill, and they are always stepping up to do demonstrations. And while they are injured and can’t play lacrosse, they show up to support the team.”