Credit to Chris Brandt 14-3

Laney Quandt crosses sticks with St. Dominic player on April 7. The Knights lost their pink out game.

Although lacrosse is becoming more of a widely known sport, most schools continue to not have a team. As for Francis Howell North Girls Lacrosse, not only do they have one team but now they have two. During the 2023-24 season, the team only had a varsity team, but this year, the program also has a C- Team. 

“I think having two levels improves our success,” Head Coach Rowan Pugh said. “We have a ton of new girls that haven’t really played lacrosse before, so you can’t really throw them into a varsity game yet, but having them get the experience on a lower level helps them improve for when they are put into a varsity game. That way they have more confidence, experience, and skill.”

Last year, the team had too many girls for a varsity team, but not enough for two teams. This caused a crowded bench and players not getting as much playing time as they would hope. Although many positive effects come from two teams, there are also some challenges that follow.

“We haven’t been able to split up practices as much as we would like,” midfielder Arianna Larsen said. “We haven’t been able to just practice with our individual teams which affects the level at which we play during practice.” 

 The team has a lot to look forward to the rest of the season as it has only just begun. The current record is 1-5 for Varsity and 2-1 for C-Team. This leaves much success to come. 

“One thing I want my girls to know is that they really are a team who support each other off the field,” Pugh said.“If they bring that same support on the field they are going to do really great this season. I think it’s just using and working for each other.”