With the lacrosse season starting up here let’s take a look at the team and their journey to a State Championship. The Tigers are coming off of a strong season last year and looking to build on top of that. Although 13 seniors are now gone, there are plenty of other players to fill in these spots.
They have lost three collegiate lacrosse players in Devin Ryan, Thomas Andriole, and Finn Culligan which will leave some big shoes to fill. Other key players that are now gone are the two-year starting goalie James Fortwangler, offensive facilitator Davis Mayer, and ground ball warrior Cullen Spalding.
The Tigers had one of the hardest schedules in program history last year which has prepared some of these younger players to step up this year. Some key seniors that are going to need to take the lead of this team if they want to succeed are lefty attackman and Cleveland State commit Brooks Mahoney, offensive leader Connor Marks, and four-year varsity player Ben Pinkston. These three players are going to be a key component to this team’s successes and will be the backbone of the team.
As much as the seniors need to take lead there are plenty of underclassmen that have a very important role within this team. Bellarmine commit Will Townsend is coming off a very impressive sophomore season with 37 points. Zach Davis a defensive leader looking to step up this season and be a key player. Another is sophomore star Connor Cronin who had an impressive freshman year leading the second line middies and looking to make a jump this season as a starter.
Going ahead and looking at a few of their games on the schedule this season we can see they have one of if not the hardest schedule in St. X lacrosse and Kentucky history. They start the season off on March 6 at home against a very good Carmel team who is coming off of a Indiana State Championship loss. The Tigers have not beat Carmel in over three years and are looking to change the narrative this time around. Next they host a top 20 nationally ranked Western Reserve, and then a week later they go to Montgomery Bell who has just won the Tennessee State Championship.
Then they will play a rivalry game at Trinity who just added another State Championship to their resume last season. Another huge one will be their rematch vs. Shady Side. These two teams matched up last May in the MSLA Championship where St. X won by two in a back and forth battle. Then they head into May where the Tigers look to take on the MSLA bracket and also make a run at a State Championship.
