Lacrosse teams start spring optimistically

Dan Elson Sports Editor Micah Smith Reporter

The Riverhawks’ new men’s head lacrosse coach said in February he expects the team’s seven returners to show leadership to the first-year players for the 2023 season.

Jeremy Ross replaced Joe Stanilaus, who accepted the position of men’s head lacrosse coach at the University of the District of Columbia in February. The Riverhawks opened their season at home on Feb. 25 against Army Prep.

“The younger guys got to look up to the older guys [and] make sure that the older guys are doing the right thing … on the field and off the field,” Ross, who played for the Riverhawks from 2015-17, said.

The Riverhawks finished their 2022 regular season at 6-5. The team lost 13-5 on April 29 in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 20 Semifinals.

Attacker Payton Williams said he’ll have a “breakout” season.

“I know I’ve been working really hard,” Williams, a third-year communications student, said. “And I know the younger guys have been looking up to me, being an older guy at community college.”

The Riverhawks scored a team 144 regular season goals last year, 35 of them by attacker Ben Wilson, who led in scoring. Midfielder Sam Kelley led the squad with 18 assists in the regular season.

Long pole Chris Higgins said he has “high hopes” for this season.

On the women’s lacrosse side, the team’s head coach said one of the goals for this season is to have more balanced offensive and defensive sides of the field.

The Riverhawks will play their first game of the 2023 campaign on March 15 at Harford Community College.

Defender Erin Tully, a second-year radiology student, said she’s “just happy to be playing again [and] I think it’s going to be a good season. So I’m excited.”

Last season the Riverhawks lost 22-15 on May 14 to the Onondaga Community College Lazers in the NJCAA Semifinals. The team finished 6-2 in the regular season.

“Last year, we were an offense-heavy team, which relied a lot on our midfield,” head coach Jim Griffiths, who led the squad to six consecutive winning seasons, said. “And hopefully, we’ll [be]

AACC athlete, replaced head coach Joe Stanilaus, who accepted the top position with the University of the District of Columbia’s team. Stanilaus finished his Riverhawks career at 42-30, including regular season and postseason games. During his tenure, Stanilaus led the team to nationals in 2014.

“It was always a dream of mine to be a head coach,” Ross, who graduated from Newberry College, said. “This place got me to a new school, got me to the next level and now … I have the opportunity to ... help some of these kids out.” more balanced this year than we [were] last year. We definitely need to improve defensively.”

Ross played for the Riverhawks from 2015-17.

Men’s lacrosse started the new season in February and Women’s lacrosse starts on March 15. Shown, Brandon Grusholt, a defender, at practice.

Last season, midfielder Madison Hobbs led the Riverhawks in the regular season with 37 points, scoring 19 goals and assisting on 18. Midfielder Elsa Skinner led the regular season in scoring with 26 goals. Goalkeeper Kaitlyn Evans started all reg- ular season and postseason games and had a 12.04 goal average.

Attacker Bailey Makarovich, a second-year transfer studies student, said Griffiths “is really good at putting people together and working with people.”

Makarovich said she would like to beat the Harford Community College Fighting Owls.