The Wildcats led 9-4 with only a few minutes left in the game, and it seemed as if the game had already been lost. The Giants stepped back onto the field after a timeout for one final push. Senior Matthew Tracy scored a goal, followed by two more from Jack Elders, but it was not enough bring them to a victory. The scoreboard read 9-7 as the final whistle sounded. Redwood had fallen in the MCAL Championship.
Now, nearly a year later, the team takes the field with a different vision.
“We all know this is our year. These new players coming up want the same thing as the returners: to win it all,” junior Cameron Breck said.
Although key players graduated, like attacker Matthew Tracy, who was on attack, and goalie Ethan Baer, Breck says that the new players can step up and fill these holes.
“We may have lost a lot, but we also gained a lot of players that can make the team even stronger than before,” Breck said.
Junior Cosmo Taylor will fill in as goalie after recovering from a shoulder injury last season. According to head coach Blake Atkins, Taylor will be a key to the team’s success, as he did well stepping in last year when the team needed him.
The team has also replaced and added a few coaches. The head coach of JV, Neil Butterfield, will be moving up to assist with varsity and two alumi, Liam Bourke and Briton Barge, will also step to assist with varsity.
Atkins said that the other key competitors in MCAL have also graduated a large number of seniors, so Redwood is not alone. A handful more starters graduated from Marin Catholic, which took first place, and Novato, which took third.
“We are definitely a younger team and I would say it’s more of a good thing. Last year we had a lot of sophomores and juniors step up, and even freshmen,” Atkins said.
Last year, the team was in a different mindset according to Breck and junior Jack Elders. It was a rebuilding year.
“I felt like the team wasn’t as focused on winning it all. We had a rough start, losing our first few games until we started to wake up,” Breck said.
This year, according to both Breck and Elders, the team woke up early, starting their training right after fall sports came to an end.
During the preseason, the team attended the Now Studio three days a week to work with Stein Skarr, a professional trainer who has been training the team for the past few seasons. Skarr will also be working with the team throughout the season.
“Just like Stein says, you’ve got to suffer for it. We are in there for an hour working on our game in every way,” Breck said.
There was a strong turnout for the trainings with Skarr.
“It’s good to see a lot of new faces out there. We have a strong class of freshman this year, which will help us tremendously. It is good to have a deep team and to have strong players fill the shoes of the upperclassmen when they leave,” Atkins said.
Many of the underclassmen are also competing on top-tier travel teams such as the Outlaws and 3D select, pushing them to play at a faster pace, according to Breck.
While the overlap with the end of soccer season has posed a field space challenge, Atkins says the coaches have already worked out practice times to combat the issue with the help of portable lights. The lights will be on the field for roughly three weeks.
“We need to work with what we have. In some ways it’s a benefit. We can practice late because of these lights and do a lot of full field work, which was hard for us last year because we only had a half field,” Atkins said.
The team will be able to practice full field clears and scrimmage. Atkins will also be coaching a larger team than before, about 30 boys, so the full field will again provide a benefit.
According to Atkins, the practices focus on fast-paced play and getting a lot of reps in from drill to drill., The team usually meets once a week for chalk talk to review plays and run through them later during scrimmaging.
Right now the team’s main focus is getting through MCALs. Afterward, it will turn its focus to NCS.
“We know NCS is going to be tough. It always is. We get all the competitive teams from the East Bay. Right now we don’t know how it is going to play out, but we just want to make it farther than last year,” Atkins said.
Last year the team entered NCS ranked ninth and finished after the second round, losing to San Ramon Valley.
A few years ago, Redwood wasn’t strong enough to be looking at a pennant. The team is proud of how far they’ve come.
Breck transferred from St. Ignatius halfway through his sophomore year, just in time to make an impact on the lacrosse field.
“I was right in the middle of it all. The team before had just won the MCAL title as well as NCS,” Breck said.
Elders has been with the team since freshman year, and has seen the lacrosse program grow tremendously.
“I remember a few years back when lacrosse wasn’t much of a focus in Marin, but in time we have developed a name for lacrosse. We have competed with some of the best teams around, and came out on top,” Elders said.
According to Atkins, many middle schoolers who look to participate in high school lacrosse have chosen Redwood over St. Ignatius recently.
The team has gotten three transfers this year, one from Saint Ignatius, one from Lawrenceville, and one who previously attended Redwood and returned this year, senior Andrew Marshall.
“We are starting to develop a reputation here at Redwood for lacrosse and it’s something to be proud of,” Breck said.
