The Oak Park and River Forest High School varsity girls lacrosse team is counting on dynamic talent and high ambition to make a triumphant run in the state playoffs.
Their current record is 5-4-1, indicating a concrete season with an impressive ranking of 18th in the state. Head Coach James Borja, who is also an assistive math teacher, is “happy because I believe that the team is improving. Our three losses were top-five ranked teams: Hinsdale Central, Lake Forest and Benet.”
Moving forward in the season, the team has gained remarkable experience, as they faced a Midwest dominator in Carmel High School on April 13. Despite the team’s loss, they competed admirably, which is “impressive to see how hard the girls fought, with such competitiveness. I have no doubt that they will dramatically improve and correct early season mistakes,” said Borja.
While the season is already well underway, 10 competitive conference games remain, ending with a highly anticipated game against the Fenwick Friars, which will be accompanied by their senior night.
“I would say our Lake Forest game and our Carmel game showed a lot of grit. We lost to Benet right before Lake Forest, and there was a lot to learn coming out of the Benet game,” said junior defender Teagan Kamaradt. At half time, the team was down 0-11 but OPRF came back and won the second half with the final score of 7-15. Kelsey O’Brien scored five of those seven goals.
The junior midfielders such as Hannah Simon, Harper Thompson and O’Brien set the tone offensively. “There is a willingness and motor to push through the challenges and fight for every ball possession we can get and not give up,” stated Kamaradt. Not only does the team strive for greatness on the field, but every “single person is getting loud, hyping each other up to generally support teammates,” she said.
The rigorous West Suburban conference is no joke, however. “Our team is very balanced with a lot of talent,” said Borja. The roster mainly consists of juniors who have played ample varsity lacrosse. Some individuals include Ella Callero, Patterson Grant and Caroline Mann, all of whom have received the acclaimed “Big Dog” award from their teammates. Despite the daunting talents within the conference, “they tend not to get rattled regardless of who we play,” Borja added.
The team is working on developing disciplined lacrosse, and if such atmosphere and camaraderie are maintained, this squad will be “an extremely difficult team to beat late in the season,” said Borja.
In light of these team goals, before each game, one can find players with a Celsius energy drink in hand prepping for pregame. An OPRF girl’s lacrosse warmup consists of dynamic stretches, ladders, shuffles and accelerators. To finish off, they’ll end with shuttle passing and partner passing, then get some offensive and defensive reps before the game begins. “We do a good job of trusting each other to pull all of our weight and give 100% effort,” said senior Sophia Augustine.
Players hope to capitalize on their potential moving towards the end season, with a diverse range of skills and a proactive coaching staff to support their ambitions.