Lacrosse starters to fill senior voids

Underclassmen look to plan their next season as seven seniors graduate

Eden Pepos, Features Editor|June 5, 2023

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Joseph Murphy

The women’s lacrosse team has seven graduating seniors. All graduates were starters.

The varsity girls lacrosse team finished their season on May 23, when they lost to Lake Oswego in the semifinals. This was the last year of high school lacrosse for the seven seniors on the team, who were all starters. 

Brooklyn Schiele, sophomore, was an attacker for the varsity team. On the field, there are a number of positions.

“[On the field] you have four attackers, three midfielders, and then you have four defense and then one goalie,” Schiele said. “So there are quite a few people.”

Schiele has been playing lacrosse since grade school and was on the Oregon American Select team this year. Next year, she will be an upperclassmen on the team. 

“I really want to have a good season next year because all the seniors are leaving,” Schiele said. “We had seven seniors this year, it’s gonna be a little hard to come back from all that. I just kind of want to be a leader and help as much as possible.”

Caitlin Juenger, sophomore, plays defense for the team.  As a defender, her main goal is to stop attackers from entering the area of the goal and avoid the ball from reaching the back of the net.

“We’re gonna have a young team for the next two years,” Juenger said. “We’re gonna have three seniors, so we’re gonna really rely on incoming freshmen next year and the year after that. I think really helping to develop those players to make sure that we have a full team is probably my biggest goal.”

Juenger started playing lacrosse in fourth grade. However, Oregon Youth Lacrosse allows teams to begin playing when they are in first or second grade. 

“I started playing because my brother played, and my parents kind of just signed me up for whatever sport was available,” Juenger said. “Then I just found my love for lacrosse because I just really enjoyed being out there playing it.”

Juenger has been playing at the high school level since she was a freshman. 

“I was really scared my freshman year trying out,” Juenger said. “But we’re all very nice. We’re not going to yell at you or anything if you mess up. If you drop a ball, it’s totally fine. It’s like a family environment, pretty much. So, just take that step and try it.”