With 11 graduating seniors, students and families packed the stands on Friday, May 1, to support girls’ lacrosse on their senior night. The team rematched Castilleja School, whom they had previously defeated, and topped off the evening with an 11-5 victory.

During the ceremony, parents and teammates held lacrosse sticks in the air and formed a tunnel for the graduating students to walk down, holding posters made by friends and family. The junior varsity girls’ lacrosse team and the boys’ lacrosse teams also stayed for the first half of the game, holding red pom-poms to cheer the team on.

“Every year, I’m sad when the seniors graduate, but then the freshmen come in and start all over again. But they play great. They play great. They really have a lot of energy and heart,” head coach Phil Wang said.

The Panthers started with all seniors in the first quarter and scored early in the game, extending their lead to 5-0 at halftime. Senior midfielder Haleh Ansari, who will be playing NCAA Division II lacrosse at Rollins College in the fall, returned for her first game since an injury, helping the team gain an early lead with a goal 10 seconds into the game. They continued to carry momentum in the second half despite the Gators responding with scoring goals.

Other players, such as junior field captain Mia Hoffman, freshman Audrey Wuebbling, and senior Adelle Farris, scored multiple goals throughout the match.

Senior Avery Speight, who was named co-captain following injuries to senior captains Lila Edmonson and Ansari, said the team performed well despite having limited field time due to field use for swim meets.

“A shutout first half is always great to see. I think we prepared really well for it going into it, especially when we couldn’t get field time because of swim,” Speight said.

According to Wang, the team excels at executing man-to-man defense and anticipating the opposing team’s drives. However, in the future, he hopes for the team to practice other forms of defense, especially heading into the postseason.

“Into this game, it was a pretty simple game plan. Play really great man-to-man defense. Get ready to slide,” Wang said. “Anticipate the slides, because we know they’re a driving team. And then on offense, pretty basic stuff, but the offense has to be really big, so create space in the 8[-meter arc], and they’re doing that. They’re executing.”

The team has performed strongly over the course of the season, with just three losses to Hillsdale High School and Archbishop Mitty High School. Based on their 13-3 overall record, Wang said he believes they will be seeded into either Division I or Division II for the Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs, depending on how other teams in the league perform in their final regular-season games.

According to both Wang and Speight, the team’s success is attributed to a positive team culture.

“This team is very supportive and very positive. We always pay attention to team chemistry, and so the seniors are always welcoming the freshmen onto the team every year,” Wang said.

Reflecting as a departing senior, Speight said that the team’s growth throughout the years has enabled their consecutive playoff appearances, and feels bittersweet as the season concludes.

“It’s definitely bittersweet. I started as a freshman who didn’t even know how to hold a stick, and to have seen where I’ve come now, it’s amazing to see the progress people can make,” Speight said. “And being able to see myself and the new freshmen, sophomores, juniors, it’s just amazing to see. But I’m definitely going to miss it a lot. And I love this team, I’ll never be able to play with this team again, so I’m going to miss it for sure.”

Despite the departure of 11 seniors, which makes up a large portion of the team, Speight said she believes the underclassmen will successfully lead next year’s roster.

“Every time a senior scored, it warmed my heart, but then also seeing sophomores, juniors, and freshmen scoring,” Speight said. “It’s a great prerequisite to what the seasons are going to look like once all eleven of us graduate, and I think this team has so much potential.”

The team has a final league matchup against Los Gatos High School on Monday, May 4, before CCS playoffs take place.

“I’m incredibly proud of our effort today and just throughout the rest of the season, and I have so much faith in this team going forward into playoffs and to the seasons to come for the players who will still be here,” Speight said.