Lacrosse Season Preview
Last year, the Moeller Crusaders finished with a record of 11 wins and 9 losses. They lost in the second round to Springboro by a score of five to six. They had big wins over Louisville St. X, Mariemont, Milford, and Shadyside academy of Pittsburg. The team has underwent a coaching change as well, from Mark Lynch 97’ to Stefan Schroder who came over from being head coach at Springboro. The team will be returning 18 seniors as well, headlined by TJ Compton, Michael Samoya, Peter Shannon, Hunter Hemphill, and Cooper Wabrick. The Crusaders are poised to have a great season, and make a deep playoff run.
With a lot of changes throughout the program, the team is looking to retool and make a deeper run than last year. TJ Compton, the starting faceoff specialist for Moeller, was interviewed for this article. He said regarding the coaching change, “I really like the new coaching staff, we have one of the best in Ohio, led by Schroder, with a wealth of knowledge that most teams in Ohio can’t possess, the team is glueing together better each day, and seniors are stepping into leadership roles and taking charge of the team on and off the field.” With so many returning seniors, the experience on the field at any given time will be immense. The reasoning behind so many seniors coming back despite going out early last year was also given by TJ Compton, he said, “Despite losing to Springboro, the team felt we had unfinished business to be completed the following season, we came in ready to work this season and play harder than ever.” One of the best signs of culture within a sports program is often how many seniors come back, and former coach Mark lynch should be given credit in creating a culture within the program where players want to come back their senior year and play for the team. Regarding the teams’ expectations and goals this year, TJ said, “We have what it takes to go all the way, and that is the ultimate goal, our expectation is to win, but to get to state, we need to work very hard and improve day by day to make it there.” The team clearly has high expectations because of the work they’re putting in every day at practice and their confidence couldn’t be higher.
With so many returning seniors, experienced staff, and a culture of hard work, the team should make it far in the season. A realistic outlook for the team would be to win the GCL and make it to the state final. Personally, I think this is possible, but requires a lot of hard work and some luck as well. St. X will undoubtedly be a very difficult opponent, with talent across the field. Teams up north like Upper Arlington and Dublin Jerome also pose a threat with talented rosters and recent playoff success as well. In such a competitive state for lacrosse the Crusaders have a long road ahead of them, but with a culture of winning, hard work, and grit, the team has all the tools and skills to overcome whatever team is placed in front of them.