The Varsity lacrosse team’s opening game was Tuesday March 2 at 7:00 against South Carroll here at Linganore, where they came out on top with a score of 15-3. The Varsity team are the current 3A State Championship team as of last season with a 9-7 victory in May 2016 over Mt. Hebron. This victory gave the team their second MPSSAA 3A/2A State title. The team set is set for a three-peat as they enter their 2017 season.

The Varsity team finished their season with with an almost perfect regular season record of 18-1. The winning game was led by 2016 graduate Daniel Ross, who scored five goals with an assist and is currently enrolled at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School at West Point.

Following the end of the season, the Lancers lost some key offensive players such as Wade Steiren, Brett Cruckshank, Dan Murphy, and, of course, Daniel Ross.

Junior Eric Stutz is excited to be back playing for that Lancers this season. At long pole middie, he is force to be reckoned with as he dominated the midfield, serving as the perfect balance between offense and defense. 

“My favorite part about playing for Linganore is that the team is like a brotherhood. Everyone gets along since the team is family-orientated.”

With the departure of key seniors last year, the varsity team has some rebuilding to do.

“The thing that we need to work on most is communication, which would be our biggest downfall on the field,” said Stutz.

“The teams that we’ll face this season will be adequate. I’m confident in the ability of our team to be able to compete at a high level of play consistently,” he added.

Junior Jordan Swoyer has been a member of the varsity team since his start as a freshman. He has had a large impact on team.

“I am a natural leader on the team, being on varsity for three years. I have learned from past players especially, Dan Ross. Playing with him I learned a lot and learned how to lead a team to a state championship.”

In last year’s championship game, Swoyer finished the game with two assists, and was named the “Maryland Playoff Offensive Player of the Week”  His phenomenal semi-final performance paved the way for the Lancers to win the state championship. With 5 goals and 3 assists, Jordan was and still a vital part of the Varsity team.

Star performer, Jack Watsic, was recently selected to be join the 2018 U.S. National Box Lacrosse Team. The college prospect has a bright future as he has received offers from several colleges including Rutgers University, and Penn State University. Jack is a stellar lacrosse player who leads by example. In his sophomore season on JV, Jack broke the old scoring record of 65 points with an astonishing 87 points.

“Our goalie, Kyle Brown, is a great leader on the defensive side of the field. He leads the defense with an iron fist. It’s helpful to learn from him so that I know how I need to perform on the offensive side of the field.”

The defense from last year’s championship team is exactly the same since none of the players were seniors last year. Therefore the Lancers will remain strong on the defensive side of the field as well as their fiery offense.

“We will definitely be ready to defend our state championship. We have a lot of hard working players with lacrosse IQ on the team.”

The Frederick News Post conducted several interviews with some players on the Varsity team, including Coach Rich Thompson. Read the entire story, Defending champ Lancers set out to carve own path, on their website.