April 12th marked the first time the McLean boys lacrosse team played against the Langley Saxons in the season and on Saxon turf. The Highlanders faced off versus the Saxons with the game resulting in a 12-8 loss for the Highlanders.

Prior to the game, the team felt confident in winning, despite having three injured players. Having played eight games so far with a 3-5 record, the team felt it was time for redemption.

“I think we are going to win. We have guys back from injury and we are starting to put all the puzzle pieces together to make a great team,” senior Connor Paight said.

Throughout the first quarter, the Highlanders put up a good offensive fight, scoring four early goals within the last few minutes of the quarter, leading at the end of the period by a score of 4-3.

“I thought we played really well overall in the first half of the game. We possessed the ball well, the defense talked a lot, and was getting possession for our offense to make plays,” sophomore Manoli Karageorgos said.

Going into the second half, the Highlanders lost the lead yet again. Langley’s offense put McLean in a difficult position and the Saxons took the lead with two consecutive goals, making the score 7-5 in favor of the Saxons.

“Some weaknesses are faceoffs and communication on both sides of the field,” Paight said. “In order to win, we need to play as one, we need to win faceoffs, and we have to be able to communicate and play through adversity throughout the game.”

Well into the second half, the Saxons made four straight goals, placing them in a comfortable position while the Highlanders scrambled to score goals.

“I think the second half came out with a little bit of a lack of energy, but I thought we did well. We made some simple mistakes, and sadly they capitalized on them, and overall I think everyone agrees we beat ourselves,” Karageorgos said.

Despite the tough loss against a harsh rival, the team looks forward to the next Langley game and to prepare for what is next to come.

“I think since everyone was on spring break, the team wasn’t able to practice all together before the game which had its downsides, but will definitely work our way back up to prepare for future games,” Paight said.