Girls’ Lacrosse

Following a successful season last year for girls’ lacrosse that ended with a league title and an 9-1 record, head coach Phil Wang has raised the bar again this season, hoping the team will not only top the Skyline division but make an appearance in the CCS playoffs.

The team has many returning players, including standouts such as junior midfielder Miranda Sibley, senior attacker Gigi Bottarini and senior defender Zaina Michael. Another one of Burlingame’s key players is sophomore Haleh Ansari, who is one of the many underclassmen on the squad primed to contribute this year, according to Wang.

“We [have] three freshmen on the varsity team this year, and this is the third year in a row that freshmen have warranted playing varsity right off the bat,” said Wang. “So not only are we getting better every year, we’re getting younger.” 

The program’s rising young talent could be attributed to the increased interest and participation in tryouts. This season was the first in Wang’s multiple years of coaching at Burlingame that he ever had to make cuts, with 82 girls signed up to play for a roster limited to just 47 spots. 

Woodside High School, Burlingame’s biggest competition from last season, had two critical seniors from last year graduate. That leaves them vulnerable to the experienced Panther squad and could clear the path for Burlingame to dominate their league season. And while the Panthers also lost valuable players in Mimi Cacciato and Ellie Neuman, Wang thinks the squad can effectively fill those holes. 

“All the players are ready to step up. I can already tell everybody is a year older, [and] more mature,” said Wang. 

The squad started their season off strong, defeating Notre Dame Belmont 9-5 in a pre-season matchup on Friday, Feb. 23, but lost to Menlo Atherton High School 10-7 on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Their next matchup is against the Menlo School on Wednesday, March 5.