Despite valiant efforts, boys’ lacrosse (3-7 Peninsula Bay League) lost 16-9 to Carlmont High School on their senior night, marking the end of the Panthers’ season.

The Scots started strong, taking an early lead when they scored off the first draw. However, the Panthers immediately struck back, with two goals from junior Henry Bradley and another from senior Nick Spano. From there, the game remained extremely close as the teams traded points back and forth.

In the third quarter, Carlmont pulled ahead to gain an 11-9 lead over Burlingame, and from there, they only continued to widen the gap, holding the Panthers to zero goals for the duration of the fourth quarter and scoring five themselves.

Sophomore Ravi Krishnan, who has been a standout underclassman all season, was proud of how he and his team performed — emphasizing how much the team improved this season.

“We definitely look better than when we started the season,” Krishnan said. “That’s what’s most important, really, is just making progress. And we definitely played a good game, just as long as we can keep our heads on straight, it’s all good.”

Assistant coach Luis Antonio Amaya-Franco was proud of the team’s effort, most notably their team chemistry and creativity on the field. While he highlighted junior Anders Gauthier as a leader who set the tone for the game, he was satisfied with the whole team’s performance.

“Everybody played to their strengths, and nobody played below what we know they can do, so that was great,” Amaya-Franco said. “They exceeded our expectations, above and beyond their own character, and it sets a baseline for next year’s returning players.”

Reflecting on his final season with the lacrosse team, senior Bradley Evars focused on valuable life lessons that will benefit him in the future.

“I think our coaches have disciplined us to make us not just better players but better men,” Evars said. “By going to practice, you’ve got to have time management, and that’s kind of built from playing sports.”

Krishnan is looking forward to seeing old and new faces on the team next year and believes that the team will be stronger than ever.

“I’m really excited about next year,” Krishnan said. “It seems like we’re going to have all these players that started playing this year, and all the experienced players from last year. We’re keeping key assets like [Bradley] and [Gauthier], and all the [junior varsity (JV)] people that are going to come up next year are also really good.”

While the loss of seniors will be a culture change for next year’s team, Amaya-Franco and head coach Logan Brown are confident that the team’s intensity will stay the same.

“Our JV knows that they have shoes to fill. And the guys on varsity, the second line and third line, know that they don’t have the luxury of letting someone else do it,” Brown said. “They’re going to have to step up, and they know that. It’s kind of just the expectation coming into this game.”

Ultimately, Brown is proud of the personal development he has seen in his players throughout the season.

“They’ve grown as leaders,” Brown said. “They’ve grown as people, they’ve learned how to trust each other and not be selfish. They are growing into adults.”